FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Africa

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise at the UN the Amendment to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights adopted at the 23rd Ordinary Session of the African Union.

Mark Simmonds: The African Court of Justice and Human Rights is not yet operational.
	The UK continues to believe that there must be no impunity for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. We will continue to voice our support for this principle.
	The UK strongly supports the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a court of last resort when other courts are unable or unwilling to act. The Rome Statute of the ICC states that the Statute shall apply equally to all persons without any distinction based on official capacity. This important principle supports the Court’s work to end impunity for the perpetrators of atrocities and deliver justice for victims of such crimes.

Burma

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to support an independent, international inquiry, with Burmese participation, into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma.

Hugo Swire: We have made clear to the Burmese Government our strong concerns over the human rights situation in the country, particularly in Rakhine state and the ethnic border regions. Our priority is to seek an end to all human rights violations. We have been firm that as part of this process the culture of impunity must be properly tackled, which we believe is best achieved through a clear, independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards.

Burma

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to urge the Government of Burma to end torture, investigate reports of continuing use of torture, and bring the perpetrators to justice;
	(2)  what recent reports he has received of the widespread use of torture in the conflict zones of Burma and alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in that country;

Hugo Swire: We are concerned by reports of the use of torture in conflict zones in Burma. We remain one of the most vocal and active members of the international community in supporting those calling for human rights in Burma. We regularly raise our strong concerns regarding any violations of human rights with senior members of the Burmese Government and military, among others. We strongly support work being led by international partners, including the UN, to help Burma better understand the UN Convention Against Torture, and the steps that need to be taken as part of ratification.
	It is the policy of the British Government that any judgment on whether war crimes have occurred is a matter for international judicial decision, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.

Nuclear Disarmament

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost of work undertaken by his Department relating to nuclear disarmament was in 2013-14; and if he will make it his policy separately to detail in his Department's annual report and accounts expenditure and activity relating to nuclear disarmament.

Hugh Robertson: Work on nuclear disarmament is led by the Counter-Proliferation Department, which has approximately thirty members of staff. We also use our global network of embassies and missions on a daily basis to take forward this work. We do not record time spent on disarmament specifically, therefore we will not be reporting separately on the costs of this work in the Annual Reports and Accounts. More detailed information on our progress on nuclear disarmament was most recently reported in our NPT PrepCom National Report, which was deposited in the House on 29 April 2014 (reference DEP2014-0656).

Somalia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British nationals have required emergency consular assistance in Somalia in each of the last four years.

Mark Simmonds: We are unable to provide direct consular assistance in Somalia. However, while we advise against all travel to Somalia except for the cities of Hargeisa and Berbera, to which we advise against all but essential travel, we have provided some consular assistance to British nationals who have travelled to Somalia through our embassy in Addis Ababa and high commission in Nairobi. There have been three cases so far in this financial year. There were seventeen cases in 2013-14, eight in 2012-13, nine in 2011-12, and ten in 2010-11.

Yemen

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 183W, on Yemen, if she will make an assessment of the effects on security in Yemen of remotely piloted air systems. [R]

Hugh Robertson: Drone strikes against terrorist targets in Yemen are a matter for the Yemeni and US Governments. We expect all concerned to act in accordance with international law and take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties when conducting operations. There is a need for effective action, and for Yemeni ownership of the fight against terrorism. It is important that Yemen and the international community continue to work together to combat this common threat of terrorism.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Programme

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what methodology is used by his Department to assess the comparative costs and benefits of the Access to Work scheme.

Michael Penning: The Department’s approach to the social cost-benefit analysis of employment programmes is outlined in DWP Working Paper No. 86, available via
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214384/WP86.pdf
	The Department is currently considering the extent to which this methodology can be applied to Access to Work.

Access to Work Programme

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people entered the Access to Work scheme in each year since 2004.

Michael Penning: Information on the number of individuals helped by the Access to Work scheme each year are only available back to 2007, and up to Q3 (31 December 2013). The requested information is already published from 2007 onwards, and can be found within table 1 on page 8 of the latest publication at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/303353/access-to-work-statistics-april-2014.pdf

Employment and Support Allowance

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to the public purse of all employment and support allowance appeals has been since May 2010; and what the cost of all such appeals which were successful has been.

Michael Penning: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 July 2014, Official Report, column 103W, to the hon. Member for York Central (Hugh Bayley).

Independent Living Fund

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on learning disability outcomes of the closure of the Independent Living Fund.

Michael Penning: The potential implications of closing the Independent Living Fund and devolving the full funding to local authorities (LA) are set out clearly in the Equality Analysis published on 6 March 2014.

Independent Living Fund

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with learning disability charities on the closure of the Independent Living Fund.

Michael Penning: In July 2012 the Department consulted extensively on the future of the Independent Living Fund, including a large number of disability organisations. The consultation received approximately 2000 responses, 79 of these responses were from disability organisations.

National Employment Savings Trust Scheme

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who are enrolled in NEST and make additional payments by monthly direct debit;
	(2)  how many (a) males and (b) females in Kilmarnock and Loudoun are enrolled in the National Employment Savings Trust.

Steve Webb: The National Employment Savings Trust announced on 1 April 2014 that they have over a million members.
	The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold any information about NEST scheme members.

Poverty: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Warrington Borough and (b) Warrington North constituency were in (i) relative and (ii) absolute poverty in 1997-98 and each year since.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.
	Estimates of the number of people in low income households are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living. This information is captured using the Family Resources Survey.
	The latest figures for people reported to be in relative and absolute poverty by the HBAI series can be found in the latest HBAI publication, available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/325416/households-below-average-income-1994-1995-2012-2013.pdf
	(ISBN 978-1-78425-188-8)
	Supporting data tables, which include figures for each region of the UK, are available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/households-below-average-income-hbai-199495-to-201213
	Information at constituency or local authority level is not available as the sample size of the Family Resources Survey is not sufficient to provide robust estimates. The lowest geography at which poverty estimates are reported is regional level.

Remploy

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to work with Remploy factory workers since the factory closure programme began; how many former Remploy factory employees are now in mainstream work; and how many former Remploy employees have been supported by the Access to Work scheme since the factory closure programme began.

Michael Penning: For all disabled former Remploy workers made redundant as a result of factory closures, the Government put in place the £8 million guaranteed People Help and Support Package (PHSP). The support package provides help to each affected disabled former employee for up to 18 months from the date they left Remploy.
	The PHSP includes one-to-one support from a personal case worker to identify suitable help to find work including access to advice, and a personal budget. Personal budget awards can pay for items such as training, tools and equipment. After 18 months is complete, specialist support will continue to be available, usually from the same specialist employment advisor.
	Former employees have also been referred to Community Support Fund projects where, in areas affected by factory closures, local organisations support former Remploy workers to move into employment and take part in social activities.
	Latest figures show that 1,506 disabled former Remploy workers are choosing to work with our personal case workers to find another job and 774 are in work. 259 disabled former Remploy employees have been supported by the Access to Work scheme since they left the factories.

Social Security Benefits

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants from (a) England, (b) London and (c) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency were sanctioned in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: The available information as requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of individuals with an adverse benefit sanction applied by geography, January to December 2013 
			  Number 
			 England 520,740 
			 London 89,080 
			 Parliamentary Constituency: Bethnal Green and Bow 2,250 
			 Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. The number of benefit sanctions applied is the number of claimants with a sanction or disallowance referral where the decision was found against them for those in receipt of jobseeker's allowance, employment and support allowance and income support for lone parents. 3. New sanctions rules came into force for JSA and ESA from 22 October 2012 and 3 December 2012. The number of JSA sanctions applied for the new regime is the number of low, intermediate, and high level referrals where the decision was found against the claimant. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jobseekers-allowance-overview-of-sanctions-rules 4. Income support lone parents receive a fixed sanction of 20% of the personal allowance rate of a single claimant (not aged less than 25) for each failure to attend/participate in a Work Focused Interview until 10p is left in payment. This sanction lasts until the individual attends and participates in a Work Focused Interview. In the case where there is more than one sanction in place the claimant need only attend/participate in one Work Focused Interview in order for all related sanctions to be removed from their benefit. 5. This information for JSA and ESA sanctions is published at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ Sources: 1. (JSA and ESA): DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database 2. (IS): Income Support Computer System

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received in support of maintaining the local welfare provision grant to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: I refer the right hon. Member to my previous answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Mr Sanders), on 13 March 2014, Official Report, column 318W. Our position has not changed.

Social Security Benefits: Tower Hamlets

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many benefit claimants from Bethnal Green and Bow constituency had benefit sanctions overturned in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: The information requested in respect of jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) and employment and support allowance (ESA) is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Number of individuals with an adverse benefit sanction overturned in Bethnal Green and Bow parliamentary constituency: January to December 2013 
			  Number 
			 Reconsideration 353 
			 Appeal 19 
			 Total 363 
			 Notes: 1. Statistical disclosure control has been applied to protect against the identification of individual claimants. 2. The data provided is for the number of appeals and reconsiderations overturned in Bethnal Green and Bow parliamentary constituency for JSA and ESA only. The decision to apply a sanction can be overturned following reconsideration or appeal by the Sector Decision Maker. 3. The information shown in the table is published at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ The information requested on income support lone parents is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate: Sanctions and Disallowance Decisions Statistics Database.

Training

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what professional development courses are made available to staff of his Department; and what the cost to the public purse is of each such course.

Michael Penning: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Winter Fuel Payments: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency received winter fuel payments in the last year for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The information for winter 2012-13 is available on the internet at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/winter-fuel-payment-caseload-and-household-figures-201213

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Young Offenders

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of all defendants of charges of (a) rape, (b) sexual offences other than rape and (c) domestic violence have been aged (i) 18 to 24 and (ii) 14 to 17 in each of the last 10 financial years.

Oliver Heald: The following table shows the proportion of prosecuted defendants, flagged as rape, sexual offences excluding rape and domestic violence, recorded in the age bands 18 to 24 and 14 to 17 in each of the last seven years:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			  (a) Rape (b) Sexual Offences exc Rape (c) Domestic Violence 
			  (i) 14 to 17 (ii) 18 to 24 (i) 14 to 17 (ii) 18 to 24 (i) 14 to 17 (ii) 18 to 24 
			 2007-08 10.1 21.5 7.5 16.3 4.0 24.1 
			 2008-09 9.4 22.5 6.1 16.3 4.0 25.5 
			 2009-10 9.5 22.5 6.0 17.0 4.0 26.0 
			 2010-11 7.6 21.9 5.5 16.9 3.8 25.9 
			 2011-12 8.1 21.3 4.7 16.6 3.3 25.8 
			 2012-13 7.4 22.6 4.5 16.9 3.0 25.4 
			 2013-14 6.8 21.4 4.3 16.8 2.7 23.5 
			 Data Source: CPS Management Information System 
		
	
	The CPS did not separately collect data pertaining to the ages of defendants prior to April 2007.

Credit: Interest Rates

Paul Flynn: To ask the Attorney-General what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to prosecute payday money lenders under the Fraud Act 2006.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is not an investigative agency and will only bring cases to court that have been referred by the police or another Law Enforcement Agency.
	The Financial Conduct Authority has regulatory responsibility for payday lenders along with other financial institutions and may either investigate criminal conduct themselves or refer it to another agency or force, as appropriate.
	There has been recent publicity about the conduct of one particular payday lender, Wonga. It was widely reported that the Financial Conduct Authority are to refer a file to the police for consideration of whether a criminal investigation is appropriate. This followed the announcement that Wonga would pay £2.6 million in compensation, after sending letters from non-existent law firms to customers in arrears.
	The CPS Deputy Head of the Specialist Fraud Division has met with the City of London Police to discuss this case. City of London Police are the national police lead in substantial fraud investigations. At this stage, the police have still to consider whether a criminal investigation is required and no advice has been sought from the CPS. Any referral to the CPS will be made to the Specialist Fraud Division.

Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of unsuccessful Crown Prosecution Service prosecutions have been because of victim issues in each of the last seven financial years.

Oliver Heald: The following table shows the proportion of unsuccessful prosecutions due to victim issues in each of the last seven years. The data for 2013-14 is not directly comparable with previous years.
	Victim reasons or issues are defined as non-attendance, retraction or the evidence of the victim does not support the case or come up to proof.
	The CPS is continually striving to improve the quality of data used in both internal and external reports. The recording of the reasons for unsuccessful outcomes was changed in April 2013 leading to enhanced recording of victim issues. It is hoped that this may more accurately reflect the proportion of unsuccessful cases due to victim issues.
	Previously victim reasons may have been recorded as “essential legal element missing” or “unreliable witnesses”. Following a change to clarify the definitions in 2013-14, the CPS has seen a fall in these reasons (from 13.7% to 4.0% and 2.2% to 1.4% respectively). In parallel there has been a rise in recording, of unsuccessful outcomes due to victim issues, with the figure rising from 15.8% to 18.8% of all unsuccessful outcomes, of which 8.1% was due to victim retraction.
	
		
			  Victim issues/reasons (Percentage) 
			 2007-08 13.6 
			 2008-09 13.3 
			 2009-10 14.4 
			 2010-11 15.4 
			 2011-12 15.7 
			 2012-13 15.8 
			 2013-14 18.8 
			 Source: CPS Management Information System.

Rape: Convictions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of all unsuccessful outcomes in rape cases have been because of victim issues in each of the last seven financial years.

Oliver Heald: The following table shows the proportion of unsuccessful prosecutions in rape cases due to victim issues in each of the last seven years.
	The recording of the reasons for unsuccessful outcomes was changed in April 2013 leading to enhanced recording of victim issues. It is hoped that this may more accurately reflect the rape victim issues the CPS is addressing through the National Rape Action Plan published in June 2014. The plan includes a specific action to conduct research into the reasons behind victim withdrawals to help identify steps to encourage victims to engage with the court process.
	Previously victim reasons may have been recorded as “essential legal element missing” or “unreliable witnesses”. Following a change to clarify the definitions in 2013-14, the CPS has seen a fall in these reasons (from 4% to 1.5% and 8.1% to 1.3% respectively). In parallel there has been a rise in recording of unsuccessful outcomes due to victim issues, with the figure rising from 12.5% to 18% of all unsuccessful outcomes, of which 10.8% was due to victim retraction.
	
		
			  Rape victim issues (Percentage) 
			 2007-08 18.1 
			 2008-09 17.5 
			 2009-10 16.5 
			 2010-11 13.9 
			 2011-12 11.8 
			 2012-13 12.5 
			 2013-14 18.0 
			 Source: CPS Management Information System.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Cadets

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2014, Official Report, column 221W, on Combined Cadet Force, if he will make an assessment of the effect of recruitment to existing community-based cadet forces.

Anna Soubry: The community cadet forces and Combined Cadet Forces (CCFs) deliver different but complementary elements of the Ministry of Defence's youth engagement strategy.
	Where the establishment of a new CCF unit under the Cadet Expansion Programme is proposed, there is an approval process involving the single Service cadet organisations and consideration is given on a case by case basis of any possible adverse affect on local community cadet force units.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the findings of Chavasse Report, published in spring 2014, what steps he is taking to ensure that injured soldiers receive the necessary specialist care to rebuild their lives.

Anna Soubry: The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham is the primary reception hospital for armed forces personnel seriously injured on operations. Its state-of-the-art facilities, operating in partnership with the NHS, offer personnel the best possible care. Once sufficiently healed, most then start a rehabilitation programme at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court, which provides acute medical rehabilitation across the spectrum of injury from sports, exercise and accidents to more serious neurological conditions and complex trauma casualties.
	When discharged from the DMRC, further rehabilitation might then be provided at one of 15 Regional Rehabilitation Units. In addition, the Defence Recovery Capability, a Ministry of Defence (MOD) led initiative in partnership with Help for Heroes, The Royal British Legion and other Service charities and agencies, ensures that wounded, injured and sick personnel have access to the key services and resources needed to help them either return to duty or make a smooth transition into an appropriately skilled civilian life.
	While the Chavasse Report is not specifically focused on the medical rehabilitation of injured personnel, the MOD is nonetheless broadly supportive of its recommendations, which make a number of proposals to deliver timely access to quality NHS elective orthopaedic care for both serving and former members of the armed forces.
	The Defence Medical Services is committed to working in partnership with NHS England and the devolved Administrations, and will continue to do so when considering the proposals of the report.

Armed Forces: Redundancy Pay

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on redundancy payments to (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force personnel in each financial year since 2010-11.

Anna Soubry: Expenditure on redundancy payments is not recorded separately by individual arms of service. However, the total of expenditure incurred on Military redundancy payments has been as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Total redundancy payments (£million) 
			 2010-11 0 
			 2011-12 110 
			 2012-13 140 
		
	
	The figure for 2013-14 will be published in the Ministry of Defence’s Annual Report and Accounts 2013-14.
	While reduced recruiting and fewer extensions of service will account for some of the reductions arising from the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review decision on the future size and shape of the regular armed forces, a redundancy programme is needed to ensure the right balance of skills for the future is maintained across the rank structures. We are providing as much support as possible to those personnel being made redundant.
	We estimate that, by 2021-22, we will have achieved cumulative savings of some £23 billion as a result of reductions in military and civilian personnel and greater efficiency in the conduct of non-front line activities.

Burma

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to incorporate discussion of torture, sexual violence and other war crimes, crimes against humanity and other human rights violations in the military training provided to the Burma Army by the UK.

Mark Francois: UK provision of Defence training to the Burma army is limited to non combat related academic courses. English Language training is delivered in country by the British Council and a course entitled “Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context” (MDWSC) has also been provided. The MDWSC covers the UK model of democratic accountability, the importance of good governance in Defence and the significance of professionalism in a nation’s armed forces. In the case of Burma, this includes the conduct and accountability of service personnel and human rights issues.

C17 Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of the extension of the C-17 Globemaster III sustainment package contract; and for how long that contract will run.

Philip Dunne: The C-17 aircraft sustainment package is a contract between the United States Government and the Boeing Corporation. Through the Foreign Military Sales programme, the United Kingdom utilises this contract to support our fleet of eight C-17 aircraft. The United States Government has agreed to extend our participation in the contract for a further three years at an estimated cost of up to $250 million.

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) internal and (b) external complaints have been received by his Department about alleged breaches of the Civil Service Code of Conduct since 2010; and what actions his Department has taken in response to each such complaint.

Anna Soubry: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is because grievance cases are not categorised according to whether they relate to alleged breaches of the Civil Service Code of Conduct.

Documents

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the document D/DDOR3(AIR)(IFF)12 dated 31 October 1994.

Philip Dunne: Despite a thorough search, we have been unable to locate a copy of the requested document within the Department's archives.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions the Military Aviation Authority has recommended that the F-35B be (a) grounded and (b) restricted in operations; what the reason was for each such recommendation; and what the duration of the grounding or restriction was in each such case.

Philip Dunne: There have been no occasions when the Military Aviation Authority have recommended that F-35B be grounded or restricted in operations.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Military Aviation Authority recommended that F-35B BK-3 should not transit the Atlantic Ocean in time for the Royal International Air Tattoo.

Philip Dunne: The Military Aviation Authority has made no such recommendation.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on a collision warning system for fast jets during the Technical Demonstration Programme between 1991 and 1998.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 148W.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made in implementing the requirement set out in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, for 50 attack helicopters until 2030; whether any delays have been caused by the subsequent decision to extend this requirement until 2040; what estimate he has made of when the present Apache fleet will become obsolete, unless modernised; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 7 July 2014
	The Apache attack helicopter forms a key component of the UK Army’s future force structures and it has a planned out of service date of around 2040. No delays have resulted from the decision taken in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review to extend this out of service date from 2030.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it will be possible for his Department to acquire any modernised, Block III Apache helicopters before the end of 2019, unless a decision is made on which contracting route to follow before the end of 2014; what progress has been made in assessing whether to proceed through (a) a government-to-government off-the-shelf purchase and (b) a purchase directly from industry in the UK; and whether any such decision will be taken before the 2015 General Election.

Philip Dunne: The UK's Apache AH Mk1 is a modified US AH-64D Block 1. The Department is considering a number of options to sustain the future Attack Helicopter capability. These options are cognisant of the plans of the US Army and other international Apache users who are moving to the Apache AH64E standard. No decision has yet been taken on the preferred option or procurement strategy.

Military Bases: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which military units and agencies are currently based at Imphal Barracks; how many square metres of accommodation they each occupy; whether his Department has any plans to close any of those units, or to move them away from Imphal Barracks; and if so which units are involved and what plans are under consideration.

Andrew Murrison: The following military units are based at Imphal Barracks:
	Headquarters 1 (United Kingdom) Division Implementation Team (followed by Headquarters 1 (United Kingdom) Division in Summer 2015)
	Headquarters 15 (North East) Brigade
	Headquarters York Garrison
	Army Welfare Services York
	Equipment Care Inspection Team York
	Support Command Educational Training Services Branch
	3 Army Education Centre York
	2nd Signal Regiment
	1 Military Intelligence Battalion 12 Military Intelligence Company 221 Military Intelligence Section
	Defence Business Services (Defence Vetting Agency)
	Headquarters North Region Special Investigation Branch Royal Military police
	Support Command Forward
	Elements of Defence Infrastructure Organisation
	Elements of Defence Equipment and Support
	The information on the number of square metres each of these units occupies is not held in the format requested.
	Apart from Headquarters 15 (North East) Brigade, which will disband by 31 December 2014, there are no current plans to close or move any of these units away from Imphal Barracks.

NATO

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) sets of accounts will be audited and (b) value for money studies will be completed this calendar year by the International Board of Auditors of NATO; how many of these audits were completed in the first six months of the year; when NATO will publish these accounts and audit reports; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: The information requested is not held by the Ministry of Defence. However NATO has agreed to consider for public release all reports from the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN) from financial year 2013 onwards. Given the importance of full transparency and public accountability, we continue to call for all reports to be published except where this would prejudice Alliance security.
	The UK remains committed to improving NATO’s transparency, accountability and value for money to tax payers and will therefore continue to work closely with Allies and NATO on this issue.

Nuclear Weapons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the titles of all reports on the risks of the transport of nuclear warheads (a) within the UK and (b) from or to the UK from abroad produced for his Department by (i) his Department and (ii) the Atomic Weapons Establishment and its predecessor body in the last 30 years.

Philip Dunne: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that those members of the armed forces who are entitled to vote in the Scottish independence referendum but will not be resident in Scotland on 18 September 2014 are being given the option to vote by post or use a proxy;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of serving members of the armed forces who are entitled to vote in the Scottish independence referendum but will not be resident in Scotland on 18 September 2014.

Andrew Murrison: No estimate has been made of the number of armed forces personnel who are entitled to vote in the Scottish Independence Referendum.
	The Ministry of Defence has taken a number of steps to ensure those entitled to vote are able to. It has;
	Issued an internal instruction, which details the arrangements to vote in the referendum, including the franchise, the importance of being registered and the various options for casting a vote;
	Published our annual instruction which sets out the arrangements for electoral registration to enable Service personnel and their spouses or civil partners to vote. This highlighted the Scottish independence referendum and included information on legislation passed by the Scottish Government that allows the 16 and 17 year old children of Service personnel living outside Scotland to vote in the referendum if they would, were it not for their parent’s Service obligations, be eligible to register to vote;
	Launched our annual information campaign on Service voting to encourage Service personnel and their families to register to vote; this also highlights the forthcoming referendum in Scotland and requires all ships, units and stations to provide assistance and information to serving personnel and their families to encourage them to register to vote;
	Engaged with the three Service Families Federations and the HIVE network to ensure that information about how to register to vote in the Scottish independence referendum reaches as many families as possible, and;
	Published articles on the Defence intranet and provided links to relevant websites for further information and to register to vote. The single Services and the Service Families Federations have also published articles in their various magazines to reach a wide audience.
	An internal reminder about the referendum in Scotland to encourage all eligible personnel and their families to register to vote is due to be published shortly.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration was given to purchasing the RAIDS Collision Warning System software options after difficulties were encountered with the bespoke Collision Warning System.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 May 2014, Official Report, column 168W.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the implementation of the tested bespoke Collision Warning System proposed by the Director of Operations Requirements (Air) in August 1998 was cancelled.

Philip Dunne: The requirement for a collision warning system was not cancelled. The development of a bespoke fast-jet to fast-jet collision warning system was halted because of a change in the requirement and the technical challenges experienced during the Assessment Phase. The requirement was re-evaluated to assess a broader range of scenarios.

Tritium

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what quantity of tritium has been imported from the US for use by his Department in H1616 shipping packages since May 2010.

Philip Dunne: This information is being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2014, Official Report, column 240W, on unmanned aerial vehicles, whether the US-UK Foreign Military Sales agreement will affect future basing for the Reaper fleet. [R]

Mark Francois: No.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2014, Official Report, column 239, on unmanned air vehicles, whether the amendment of Joint Services Publication 398 on UK Rules of Engagement makes any reference to (a) operations conducted remotely or (b) cross-border targeted operations. [R]

Mark Francois: No. Rules of Engagement (ROE) are selected from JSP 398 to produce an ROE Profile which governs how force, by whatever means, may be applied for a specific operation. The ROE in the JSP are written to be appropriate for the full array of weapons systems available to UK Forces. JSP 398 states only that an endorsed ROE Profile will always be applicable within a designated geographic area.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2014, Official Report, column 99W, on unmanned air vehicles, what assessment he has made of the degree to which Reaper redeployment abroad is significant; and if he will make it his policy to receive parliamentary approval before active use of any Reapers based outside Afghanistan. [R]

Mark Francois: The UK intends to retain the Reaper capability primarily for its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities after combat operations in Afghanistan have ceased.
	As is the case for the routine deployment of other military assets, the Ministry of Defence may notify Parliament of the deployment of UK Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems but there is no intention for parliamentary approval to be sought prior to each deployment or redeployment.

CABINET OFFICE

Air Travel

John Woodcock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office on what occasions (a) each Minister within his Department and (b) the Prime Minister has taken domestic flights on official business since May 2010.

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 506W, on official visits, what domestic visits each of the Ministers of his Department has made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Francis Maude: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Details of all ministerial overseas travel is published on a quarterly basis.
	Information about the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister’s visits within the UK are published quarterly.

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) internal and (b) external complaints have been received by his Department about alleged breaches of the Civil Service Code of Conduct since 2010; and what actions his Department has taken in response to each such complaint.

Francis Maude: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Civil Service Code sets out the clear procedure that civil servants should follow if they believe they are being required to act in a way which conflicts with the Code, or they become aware of action by others which they believe conflicts with the Code. Complaints are normally dealt with by the line management chain within Departments in the first instance, with the most serious cases escalated to senior managers, HR or the Permanent Secretary.
	Where a civil servant is not satisfied with how the matter has been handled by a Department, he or she can raise the matter with the Civil Service Commission. The Commission publishes details of the number of complaints received annually.

Civil Servants: Pay

Nick Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which Government Departments administer their own departmental civil service payrolls; and which Government departments' payrolls are administered by which other outside firms.

Francis Maude: Detail on the payroll service arrangements of all Departments is not held centrally.

Debts

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the aggregate household debt was in the final quarter of the 2013-14 financial year.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated July 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the aggregate household debt was for the final quarter of the 2013-14 financial year. (204217).
	The Office for National Statistics publishes details of the financial liabilities of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) combined. The most recent analyses can be found in table A64 of the United Kingdom Economic Accounts published (UKEA) 2014 Q1, on 27 June 2014. The UKEA is available on the National Statistics web site at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa1-rd/united-kingdom-economic-accounts/q1-2014/bod-ukea-2014q1.pdf
	Household ‘debt’ can be interpreted as the accumulated ‘Total financial liabilities’ of the household and NPISH sector. These are predominantly made up of short and long term loans. The UKEA shows that for households and NPISH, the combined ‘Total financial liabilities’ in 2014 Q1 was £1,557.6 billion.

Electronic Government

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to tackle copycat websites which are charging for free Government services;
	(2)  what recent meetings he has had with internet search engine companies on steps to tackle copycat websites which are charging for free Government services.

Nick Hurd: Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly.
	We encourage all users of public services to go to our award-winning:
	www.gov.uk
	the official website for Government information and services.
	The Cabinet Office is working with Google and other search engine providers to address the problem of misleading websites advertising on their search engines. Work with other bodies such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and Which? continues to raise awareness of this issue and ensures action is taken where appropriate.

Freedom of Information

John Woodcock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how much the Prime Minister's Office spent on legal fees in cases relating to the release of information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much his Department spent on legal fees in cases relating to the release of information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each of the last five years.

Francis Maude: The Prime Minister’s Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. In common with other Departments, the Cabinet Office pays fees to the Treasury Solicitor’s Department for legal advice on a range of issues. The proportion of those fees which relates to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is not recorded.

Recruitment: Northern Ireland Office

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions officials from his Department have held with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Office about that Department accepting placements from the Civil Service fast stream programme.

Francis Maude: As was the case under previous Administrations details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Senior Civil Servants

John Woodcock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many senior civil servants appointed to positions in (a) his Department and (b) the Prime Minister's Office since 2010 were previously (i) political appointees within that Department or Office and (ii) employed by a political party.

Francis Maude: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what he estimates the lifetime earning premium of those with (a) L3 apprenticeships and (b) L4+ apprenticeships will be compared to level 2 apprenticeships.

Matthew Hancock: The latest analysis published by the Department shows that those who achieve an Intermediate (L2) Apprenticeship earn on average between £48,000 and £74,000 more over their lifetime, in today's valuation, compared to similar individuals with Level 1 or other Level 2 qualifications. Those who achieve an Advanced Apprenticeship (L3) earn on average between £77,000 and £117,000 more over their lifetime, compared to similar individuals with Level 2 qualifications.
	The full report-‘Returns to Intermediate and Low Level Vocational Qualifications'-is published at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32354/11-1282-returns-intermediate-and-low-level-vocational-qualifications.pdf
	Other research-based on a different methodology-suggests that those who achieve a Higher Apprenticeship could earn £150,000 more on average over their lifetime, compared to individuals with Level 3 vocational qualifications. This is taken from a report published at:
	https://www.aat.org.uk/sites/default/files/assets/University_Report_AAT_and_CEBR_February_2013.pdf

Apprentices

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of apprenticeships commenced in the last 12 months were with (a) small and medium-sized enterprises, (b) larger firms, (c) public sector employers and (d) voluntary sector employers.

Matthew Hancock: Information on the size of organisations offering apprenticeships is presented in the Apprenticeship Evaluation: Employer research publication:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-evaluation-employer
	We do not separately measure the number of apprenticeship starts in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

British Business Bank

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized business in  (a)  Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c)  England and Wales have (i) applied for and (ii) been granted loans by the British Business Bank in the last year.

Matthew Hancock: The British Business Bank does not lend directly to small and medium-sized businesses.
	However, the British Business Bank does administer a number of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ schemes designed to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses by facilitating lending which would not otherwise take place.
	In all cases the loans are made by third party lenders and neither the Department nor the Business Bank plays any part in the individual lending decisions.
	In some instances the loans are made using capital partially or wholly provided by the Department as either a grant or a loan and in other cases the lenders’ own capital is used under the partial protection of a guarantee from the Department.
	The devolved nature of the delivery arrangements mean that the Department does not hold fully comparable information on the number of applications received by each lender in each programme but information on loans drawn down in the financial year 2013/14 is available as follows:
	
		
			 British Business Bank loans to SMEs 
			  Ashfield constituency Nottinghamshire1 England and Wales 
			  Number Value (£) Number Value (£) Number Value (£) 
			 Start-Up Loans 10 56,000 222 1,008,770 11,859 67,212,422 
			 Enterprise Finance Guarantee 7 540,000 69 5,180,158 2,990 324,583,856 
			 Business Finance Partnership and Investment Programme 7 226,834 69 2,465,373 3,954 237,575,743 
			 Total 24 822,834 360 8,654,301 18,803 629,372,021 
			 1 The ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, including the City of Nottingham

Exports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assistance his Department provides to help small rural businesses to export; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) provides a wide range of export services to small businesses, including small businesses located in rural areas. Those services include access to UKTI’s network of trade advisers who help companies develop their export potential, as well as support for companies to attend overseas missions and exhibitions. When overseas, small companies can access support from UKTI teams in more than 100 international markets.
	In the past 12 months, UKTI has supported 29 companies in Thirsk Malton and Filey.

Exports: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what additional support he is providing to encourage businesses in Brighton, Kemptown to export to overseas markets; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) provides a wide range of support to help business. UKTI’s South East team deploys 45 international trade advisers to help companies maximise their export potential. Those trade advisers have a wide range of international business experience across many business sectors, and they are able to connect companies to UKTI teams in over 100 international markets. UKTI South East also undertakes a wide range of events across the region which have included supporting export related events at the Amex stadium in January and April of this year. There was also a strong UKTI presence at the Eco Technology Show at the Brighton Centre in June 2014.

Healthcare UK

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether public sector organisations from the devolved administrations have been invited to participate in Healthcare UK's Business Forum for stakeholders on 24 July 2014.

David Willetts: Yes, public sector organisations from the devolved administrations have been invited to participate in Healthcare UK's Business Forum for stakeholders on 24 July 2014.

New Businesses: East Sussex

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to increase business formation in (a) Brighton, Kemptown and (b) Lewes District; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: Small businesses are vital to the economy and this Government is supporting them in many ways.
	Economic stability, lower taxes, deregulation, and a culture of enterprise are vital to business growth. But it is equally important that businesses are able to access the information they need to start-up and grow.
	The British Business Bank recently published “The Business Finance Guide: A Journey from Start-Up to Growth” which is available on the British Business Bank Website. It is a unique guide that sets out the main things to consider and outlines sources of finance available to businesses-ranging from start-ups to small and medium-sized enterprises and growing mid-sized companies. The website www.greatbusiness.gov.uk also provides support and advice for businesses trying to grow as well as for entrepreneurs starting out.
	In addition to on-line support, the Business Support Helpline is available to provide a quick response on queries about starting a business, or a personalised and in-depth advice service for more complex needs.
	For those looking for start-up finance and advice there are Start-Up Loans: 105 loans worth £527,740 have been drawn down in Brighton, Kemptown and Lewes since the scheme began in 2012.

HEALTH

Abortion

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the causes of trends in the number of abortions which were performed on women who had already had an abortion in the last 10 years.

Jane Ellison: The Department has not made any such assessment in recent years; however, reproductive health charity, Marie Stopes UK, recently launched the findings of the first research (for under 25s) in the United Kingdom into the contraceptive use of women aged 16-24 having one or more abortions.

Abortion

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2014, Official Report, column 611W, on abortion, what estimate he has made of the number of HSA4 forms returned to the terminating doctor pending completion as of June 2014.

Jane Ellison: Estimating the number of forms still pending completion as at June 2014 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Aphasia

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve support for people with aphasia.

Norman Lamb: Rehabilitation services, specifically speech and language therapy, provide much of the national health service support for people with aphasia. As clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning these services, they should be taking steps to ensure that support for people with aphasia is available and improve these services where appropriate.
	More generally, NHS England is currently reviewing the provision of rehabilitation services. It works in partnership with charities which provide invaluable support for people with aphasia and is also working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the development of generic rehabilitation guidance which will encompass speech and language therapy.
	In addition, as stroke is a significant cause of aphasia, the cardiovascular disease Strategic Clinical Networks are working with commissioners and providers to improve stroke rehabilitation services, including speech and language therapy after stroke.

Arthritis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis received an annual review in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: Information on the number of people diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not available.
	The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline Rheumatoid arthritis: The management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults, published in 2009, recommends that people with RA have a comprehensive annual review that is coordinated by the rheumatology service. The NICE RA Quality Standard, published in 2013, also includes the provision of an annual review as one of the seven quality statements that define high quality RA care.
	The 2013-14 Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) added new performance indicators on RA care, including
	‘the proportion of people with RA diagnosed more than 1 year ago whose last comprehensive review was within 12 months of the previous review.’
	The QOF is a voluntary incentive scheme that provides additional reward to general practitioner practices for how well they care for patients based on performance against a number of agreed indicators. The report of the results of the 2013-14 QOF is expected for publication in autumn this year.

Cancer

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with Public Health England on progress made by the BeClear Campaign to improve the detection of rare cancers over the last (a) six months and (b) year.

Jane Ellison: The National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) part of Public Health England (PHE) now undertakes evaluation of the Be Clear on Cancer (BCOC) campaigns. For each campaign there is a defined set of metrics identified to evaluate the impact of BCOC campaigns. These include whether: campaigns are raising awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer; more people are going to their general practitioners with the symptoms promoted by the campaign; more people are being referred urgently for suspected cancer; there is an increase in diagnostic activity; there is evidence of a shift towards earlier stage disease and; of those referred urgently for suspected cancer, how many turn out to have that cancer.
	Within the last 12 months, PHE has run campaigns on five rarer cancers: the “blood in pee” campaign for bladder and kidney cancers (a national campaign following a successful regional pilot campaign); the “persistent bloating” campaign for ovarian cancer (regional pilot campaign) and, also as a regional pilot, the “persistent heartburn” campaign for oesophago-gastric cancer (oesophageal and stomach). The evaluation metrics for the campaigns were discussed, agreed and approved by the Public Awareness and Primary Care Steering Group chaired by NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer and which includes members representing PHE (PHE-Marketing and NCIN); NHS England, NHS Improving Quality; Cancer Research UK; Macmillan Cancer Support; Department of Health officials and other stakeholders.
	In May 2014, Cancer Research UK prepared a BCOC evaluation update which is available on the BCOC website at:
	www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/spotcancerearly/naedi/beclearoncancer/background#evidenceandevaluation
	The update includes findings from the local oesophago-gastric, ovarian and regional “blood in pee” campaigns. The decision to repeat the national “blood in pee” campaign for bladder and kidney cancer in the autumn of 2014 is based on positive evidence from the evaluation of the regional campaign and encouraging initial evaluation results from the national campaign which ran from October-November 2013. These results demonstrated notable changes in symptom awareness and referral activity.

Christie NHS Foundation Trust

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on allegations that tissue samples were sold by the Christie NHS Foundation Trust to pharmaceutical companies without the knowledge of the patients concerned; whether his attention was drawn to any such allegations; and what investigation his Department has (a) conducted and (b) plans to conduct into such allegations.

Jane Ellison: These allegations were not previously known to either the Department or Ministers.
	This written question has been brought to the attention of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, and the system regulators—in this case, Monitor, the Care Quality Commission, and the Human Tissue Authority. The regulators are best placed to deal with such concerns as they have statutory powers to take action where necessary.

Christie NHS Foundation Trust

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will direct Monitor to publish its strategy for engaging with whistleblowers in its fact-finding investigation into alleged wrongdoing at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

Jane Ellison: No. This is a matter for Monitor as the system regulator of health services in England.

Christie NHS Foundation Trust

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that whistleblowers willing to give evidence on allegations of wrongdoing at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust will not be victimised or otherwise suffer detriment from the Trust for so giving evidence.

Daniel Poulter: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has been very clear that people working in the national health service should be supported to raise concerns. Trusts should have whistleblowing policies in place that are compliant with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
	It is in the interests of patients and staff that trusts foster a culture where NHS workers feel confident that when concerns in the public interest are raised they will be heard. To that end, on 24 June, the Secretary of State announced that Sir Robert Francis QC, will lead an independent review of whistleblowing policies and practices in the NHS, which will consider what more can be done to further protect NHS workers who speak out in the public interest.
	The Secretary of State wrote on 5 March 2014 to all Chairs in NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England to reiterate the vital importance of fostering a culture of openness and transparency in the NHS in which concerns about care can be raised, investigated and acted upon.
	We have introduced a contractual right to raise concerns and issued guidance for NHS organisations. In March 2012, we strengthened the NHS Constitution to include an expectation that staff will raise their concerns early and a pledge that their employer will act upon those concerns.
	We are also introducing a Duty of Candour, so that when things go wrong, organisations have a statutory duty to admit mistakes and tell patients what has happened.

Christie NHS Foundation Trust

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether a compromise agreement has been reached, or is in the process of being reached, with the currently suspended chief executive of the Christie NHS Foundation Trust on the termination of her employment;
	(2)  if he will take steps to ensure that no settlement is reached between the Christie NHS Foundation Trust and its chief executive, Caroline Shaw, on the termination of her employment until Monitor and the Care Quality Commission have concluded their current investigations into allegations of wrongdoing and published the outcome.

Jane Ellison: The decision to settle a dispute with an employee is an employment matter between the trust and the employee.
	We have written to Sir Hugh Taylor, interim chair of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, informing him of this enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Dementia

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people over the age of 75 years were diagnosed with dementia after being admitted to hospital as an emergency inpatient in England in each year since 2009-10.

Norman Lamb: Data on the number of patients diagnosed with dementia following an emergency admission is not collected centrally. However, data is gathered on the referral of clinically appropriate cases for specialist diagnosis of dementia and appropriate follow up for those aged 75 and over, who were admitted as an emergency and stayed for more than 72 hours. Data is only available for 2013-14 and is shown as follows: 2013-14 Q4-13,238 Q3-12,223 Q2-11,143 Q1-9,230 Total 45,834

Emergency Services

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many ambulance calls were responded to by (a) the police and (b) the fire service in (i) England, (ii) Lancashire and (iii) Hyndburn constituency in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what proportion of ambulances responding to the most serious calls failed to respond within eight minutes in (a) England, (b) Lancashire and (c) the Hyndburn constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Ellison: The performance standard for ambulance response times is that 75% of Category A life threatening calls are responded to within eight minutes.
	Information on the percentage of ambulance responses to Category A immediately life threatening calls that failed to respond within eight minutes in England and the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust since April 2004 is shown in the following table.
	Data relating to Lancashire and Hyndburn constituency is not collected separately. Lancashire and Hyndburn constituency is covered by the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
	Data around the numbers of ambulance calls responded to by the police and the fire service is not collected centrally.
	The following table shows the percentage of ambulance responses to Category A immediately life threatening calls that were not responded to within eight minutes in England and in the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, April 2004 to March 2014:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			   England North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust 
			 2004-05  23.8 23.3 
			 2005-06  24.7 25.7 
			 2006-07  25.4 27.3 
			 2007-08  22.9 24.4 
			 2008-091  25.7 25.7 
			 2009-10  25.7 27.0 
			 2010-11  25.1 26.4 
			 2011-122  23.9 23.3 
		
	
	
		
			 2012-133 Category A (April to May 2012): 24.5 23.2 
			  Red 1 (June 2012 to March 2013): 26.0 26.5 
			  Red 2 (June 2012 to March 2013): 24.4 23.4 
			 2013-14 Red 1: 24.4 24.1 
			  Red 2: 25.2 22.6 
			 1 From 1 April 2008, NHS ambulance trusts measured response times from the point when the call is presented to the control room telephone switch. Previously, response times were measured from the point when certain details had been ascertained from the caller. Therefore, data from 2008-09 onwards are not comparable with earlier years. 2 Data up to 2010-11 are from the KA34 data collection by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, and not necessarily consistent with later data, which are supplied via NHS England. 3 From June 2012 onwards, the single Category A eight minute response standard was replaced by two separate standards, Red 1 and Red 2. Due to differences in clock start definitions, it is not possible to aggregate performance of Red 1 and 2 into a total Category A performance. Source: Ambulance quality indicators, NHS England

General Practitioners

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP practices have closed since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: We do not hold information regarding the number of practices that have closed since May 2010.

Health: Business

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the number of companies who have only signed up to pledges set out in the Responsibility Deal as they refer to the health of their own workforce rather than those regarding the content of their products.

Jane Ellison: No estimate has been made of the number of companies who have only signed up to pledges set out in the Responsibility Deal as they refer to the health of their own workforce rather than those regarding the content of their products. Details of partners and the pledges they are committed to taking action on are available in full on the Responsibility Deal website at:
	https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/partners
	including those taking action under the Health at Work network.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for all (a) NHS patients classified as urgent and (b) NHS cancer patients classified as urgent.

Jane Ellison: There are no national health service waiting time standards specifically for patients classified as “urgent”. It is the objective of this Government to ensure that all patients receive timely and high quality care.
	Clinical priority is—and remains—the main determinant of when patients should be treated within existing waiting times targets.

Housing: Health

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effect of living in damp homes on the health of (a) children in general and (b) asthmatic children; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: The effect on health of living in cold and damp housing is well known. Evidence suggests that children living in cold and damp housing environments are disproportionately affected. Children living in cold homes, which are more likely to be damp, are more than twice as likely to suffer from a variety of respiratory problems than children living in warm homes1. Significant negative effects of cold housing are evident in terms of infants’ weight gain, hospital admission rates, developmental status, and the severity and frequency of asthmatic symptoms.
	It is estimated that 1.1 million children have asthma in the United Kingdom2. We do not know what proportion of these asthmatic children can attribute to living in a damp home to the severity of their condition.
	Public Health England (PHE) has an asthma research programme that includes analyses of environmental samples to identify important components including bioaerosols, chemicals and pollutants with the potential to modify asthma risk.
	The Cold Weather Plan for England 20133 identifies groups at greater risk of harm from cold weather including people living in houses with mould. Flooded properties are also at risk from damp and mould growth following flooding events. PHE in its Guidance on Recovery from Flooding, essential information for frontline responders
	4
	, acknowledges that there is medical evidence linking prolonged exposure to high levels of mould with exacerbation of asthma in some individuals.
	1Marmot Review Team (2011) The Health Impacts of Cold Homes and Fuel Poverty
	2APPG Respiratory Health (2014) Report on inquiry into respiratory deaths:
	www.blf.org.uk/Page/Report-on-inquiry-into-respiratory-deaths
	3Public Health England (2013) The Cold Weather Plan. Protecting Health and Reducing Harm from Cold Weather:
	www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/252838/Cold_Weather_Plan_2013_final.pdf
	4Public Health England (2014) Guidance on Recovery from Flooding – essential information for frontline responders:
	www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1317140798239

Liver Diseases

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were admitted to hospital with a (a) primary and (b) secondary diagnosis of liver disease in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: The following table shows a count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) for individuals who were admitted to hospital with a primary and secondary diagnosis of liver disease from 2009-10 to 2012-13.
	
		
			 Count of FAEs1 for individuals who were admitted to hospital with a (i) primary2 and (ii) secondary diagnosis3 of liver disease4, 2009-10 to 2012-135, Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Primary diagnosis Secondary diagnosis 
			  Direct Hepatitis-related Cancer-related Other Direct Hepatitis-related Cancer-related Other 
			 2009-10 29,882 6,095 8,233 12,530 90,115 23,056 3,932 23,665 
			 2010-11 32,563 5,433 9,044 13,283 106,359 26,552 4,685 26,858 
			 2011-12 34,967 4,339 9,722 14,491 117,244 27,458 5,182 29,281 
			 2012-13 34,354 4,640 9,884 15,856 126,782 30,282 5,561 19,549 
			 1Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. 2 Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. 3Secondary diagnosis As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 6 prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care. 4ICD-10 codes for liver disease The following ICD10 codes have been used to identify 'Liver Disease' 1) Directly attributable to liver disease ("direct") K70.- Alcoholic liver disease K71.- Toxic liver disease K72.- Hepatic failure, not elsewhere classified K73.- Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified K74.- Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver K75.- Other inflammatory liver diseases K76.- Other diseases of liver K77.-* Liver disorders in diseases classified elsewhere (note that this code may appear in the first secondary diagnosis position). Q44.6 Cystic disease of liver 2) Attributable to hepatitis-related liver disease ("hepatitis-related") B15.- Acute hepatitis A 
		
	
	
		
			 B16.- Acute hepatitis B B17.- Other viral hepatitis B18.- Chronic viral hepatitis B19.- Unspecified viral hepatitis 3) Attributable to cancer-related liver disease (“cancer-related”) C22.0 Liver cell carcinoma C22.1 Intrahepatic bile duct carcinoma C22.2 Hepatoblastoma C22.3 Angiosarcoma of liver C22.4 Other sarcomas of liver C22.7 Other specified carcinomas of liver C22.9 Malignant neoplasm of liver, unspecified D13.4 Benign neoplasm of liver 4) Other conditions relating to liver disease (“other”) I81.X Portal vein thrombosis I82.0 Budd-Chiari syndrome K83.- Other diseases of biliary tract T86.4 Liver transplant failure and rejection 5Assessing growth through time (Admitted patient care) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Lung Diseases

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to address regional inequalities in health outcomes for interstitial lung disease in the last year; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: In March 2014, NHS England published Putting Patients First: the NHS England business plan for 2014/15–2016/17. This reaffirms its commitment to improving the quality of care, improving equality and reducing health inequalities, and that reducing mortality and improving outcomes outcome for people with respiratory disease remains a priority.
	The commissioning of services for interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the responsibility of NHS England in its role as commissioner of specialist services. It has published a service specification for ILD which introduces a common standard for commissioning these services across England with the aim of ensuring equality of patient access to multi-disciplinary team diagnosis and current treatments.

Lung Diseases

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Institute for Health Research has reported to his Department the results of the research commissioned on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Daniel Poulter: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme is funding a systematic review of evidence on the benefits, harms and costs of treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
	The researchers have sent the report of the review to the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, based at the University of Southampton, which manages the HTA programme on behalf of the Department. The report is expected to be published in the journal ‘Health Technology Assessment’ in January 2015.

Obesity

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of (a) NHS expenditure and (b) other expenditure for which his Department is responsible has been for the (i) treatment and (ii) prevention of obesity in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Information on national health service expenditure on the treatment and prevention of obesity is not collected centrally. Decisions on spending are a matter for local NHS organisations.
	It is not possible to provide comprehensive information about the Department’s expenditure on the treatment and prevention of obesity because a wide range of teams across the Department and other partners contribute to this policy. The Department has invested in a number of nationally-coordinated programmes which contribute to tackling obesity including the National Child Measurement Programme, Change4 Life, the School Games and Change4Life School Sports Clubs.
	We have also given local authorities ring-fenced funding of £5.4 billion over two years, 2013-14 and 2014-15, to help tackle public health issues including overweight and obesity.

Osteoporosis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS trusts offer a screening programme of osteoporosis to reduce falls and fractures.

Norman Lamb: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the national health service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation.
	The UK NSC has reviewed the evidence for screening for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and recommended that screening should not be offered. The UK NSC will review the evidence for screening again in 2016-17 as part of its three yearly review policy cycle.
	A preferred approach is to target higher risk groups (post-menopausal women, those on long term steroid use and after a first fracture). Prevention, assessment and treatment is covered in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines as follows:
	http://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/osteoporosis
	www.nice.org.uk/guidance/TA160
	www.nice.org.uk/guidance/TA161
	www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG146
	There is patient information on the management of and living with osteoporosis on the NHS Choices website:
	www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Osteoporosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Social Services

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Care Act 2014 and the care and support statutory guidance, 
	(1)  whether self-funders and those with personalised care budgets are under an obligation to show that they are paying social care firms enough to pay their staff at least the minimum wage, including remuneration for travel time between appointments;
	(2)  what guidance his Department gives to local authorities on the action they should take if they receive evidence that self-funders and those with personalised care budgets are not paying social care firms enough to pay their staff at least the minimum wage, including remuneration for travel time between appointments.

Norman Lamb: Self-funders and people with personal budgets whose care is arranged by their local authority have no obligations under the provisions of the Care Act 2014, draft statutory Care Act guidance or draft regulations on the Care Act, to show that they pay social care providers enough to pay their staff at least the minimum wage, including remuneration for travel time between appointments. Social care providers must fulfil their legal obligations as employers which include ensuring that staff salaries conform to the national minimum wage.
	If a person chooses to request their personal budget as a direct payment to purchase their own care and support, the draft Care Act guidance details what the local authority should do as part of its general monitoring of the direct payment to ensure that the person fulfils their legal obligations as an employer. This includes ensuring that the person is registered as an employer with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and is making the appropriate contributions for PAYE and income tax, and that payments conform to the national minimum wage. Where it is apparent that these obligations are not being met, the local authority should review the care plan and making of the direct payment to ascertain if alternate arrangements need to be made that result in the person no longer being an employer (para 12.46-12.49, p172-73).
	The draft guidance and regulations on the Care Act are currently open for public consultation. The Department is also undertaking a series of engagement events with social care stakeholders to gather feedback on the content of the guidance and regulations.

Telemedicine

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2014, Official Report, column 520W, on telemedicine, when NHS England will publish a set of consistent measures for commissioners to demonstrate the effect of telehealth technologies on health outcomes.

Norman Lamb: NHS England is currently developing a set of metrics to be used across technology enabled care services and will be testing these metrics with analysts and commissioners to ensure they are fit for purpose.
	NHS England aims to have finalised and published these metrics by October 2014.

Telemedicine

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2014, Official Report, column 520W, on telemedicine, how many telehealth, telecare and telecoaching connections there were in each region of England in 2011.

Norman Lamb: NHS England does not hold a breakdown of data by region within England. Data have been collected for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Telemedicine

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2014, Official Report, column 520W, on telemedicine, when NHS England will issue the first in its regular surveys on the number of individuals who benefit from telehealth services; to whom the survey will be issued; when the survey will report and be published; how it will be analysed; and how often it will be repeated.

Norman Lamb: The Technology Enabled Care Services survey is conducted and published by the Telecare Services Association (TSA). The most recent survey was issued by the TSA on 2 July 2014 and the TSA expects to conduct this survey on a quarterly basis. NHS England will use the data collected through these surveys to inform the Technology Enabled Care Services programme.

JUSTICE

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the maximum share of the total contract value for community rehabilitation companies any one successful bidder will be able to be awarded;
	(2)  whether his Department will impose a cap on the number of contracts any one bidder can be awarded to undertake the work of the 21 community rehabilitation companies.

Jeremy Wright: The Transforming Rehabilitation Programme is opening up the market to a diverse range of new providers, so that we can harness the best that the private and voluntary sectors have to offer to reduce reoffending. The competition to award contracts to run the new Community Rehabilitation Companies is ongoing and in June we received bids from potential providers. We are committed to rolling out these important reforms by 2015.
	The Government has been clear that we want to see a diverse market delivering probation services, rather than being dominated by just a few providers. We have set a market share restriction whereby bidders can win a maximum of 25% of market share based on the indicative contract values set out in the competition documentation. Bidders will be allowed to win multiple contracts up to the point at which their market share cap would be breached subject to meeting any other requirements set out by the Authority.

Court of Appeal: Television

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many minutes in total of Court of Appeal hearings have been televised since cameras were first allowed in court;
	(2)  how many Court of Appeal hearings have been televised since cameras were first allowed in court.

Shailesh Vara: As of 8 July 2014, the relevant media organisations inform us that 117 hearings have been recorded since legislation was passed on the 31 October 2013 to enable live television broadcasting from the Court of Appeal.
	The BBC, ITN, Sky and the Press Association determine which cases should be filmed and it is for those individual media organisations to decide what should be broadcast, and when. No information about how many cases are broadcast, or how many minutes of coverage, is held by the Ministry of Justice.
	Court broadcasting gives the public the opportunity to see and hear the decisions of judges in their own words and is a step towards achieving our aim of having an open and transparent justice system.

Courts: Children

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will introduce mandatory training for lawyers dealing with children.

Shailesh Vara: The legal profession is independent of Government. The Legal Services Board and approved regulators are responsible for determining the qualification requirements, ongoing training, quality assurance and other regulatory requirements for legal services providers, such as solicitors, barristers and legal executives.
	In criminal cases, there is a range of training and materials available to all advocates in relation to cases involving vulnerable witnesses, including children, much of it available through the Advocates' Gateway. The Bar Council and Law Society have announced a new initiative to train defence lawyers on cases involving vulnerable witnesses, and I welcome this.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for compensation were rejected by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014 to date; and if he will list in each case the injuries sustained by the applicant and the reason for the application being refused.

Damian Green: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) publishes data about the reasons applications are ineligible in its annual reports at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications? departments%5B%5D=criminal-injuries-compensation-authority&publication_type=corporate-reports
	The published figures show the number of times each refusal reason was used. That does not reflect an accurate total of ineligible cases because some cases are ineligible for multiple reasons. The accurate total of ineligible cases for the calendar years specified is as follows:
	
		
			 Year Ineligible cases 
			 2010 27,302 
			 2011 23,316 
			 2012 25,385 
			 2013 23,783 
			 2014 (up to 8 July) 11,309 
		
	
	I have placed records showing why each of these cases was ineligible in the House of Commons Library. CICA uses injuries as the basis for a payment so very few ineligible cases have injuries recorded for them. Where an injury has been assessed and entered on the case file it is included in the records provided.

Drugs: Nottinghamshire

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire have been arrested for possession of (i) Class A drugs, (ii) Class B drugs and (iii) Class C drugs in the last year; and what steps his Department is taking to rehabilitate people convicted of drug-related crimes.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested on arrests is not available centrally. Data held by the Home Office on arrests for drug offences cannot be broken down to identify the drug class type.
	Offenders are able to access the same help for substance misuse problems as those in the wider community. Prison, probation and youth justice staff work closely with health commissioners and providers to support offenders to access these services. Where appropriate, for those sentenced to a community sentence, the court can impose, as part of that sentence, a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement.
	Under Transforming Rehabilitation, community rehabilitation companies will begin to work with offenders while still in custody, enabling them to provide “through the gate” support before managing them in the community. This will support greater continuity of drug treatment, and new processes are being developed and tested in nine resettlement prisons in conjunction with health partners. In addition, the Offender Rehabilitation Act will bring new powers to require offenders on licence, where appropriate, to attend drug appointments, as well as expanding powers for testing for Class A and Class B drugs.

Fixed Penalties

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what statistics his Department holds on the use of fixed penalty notices in each local authority area and in each category.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on Penalty Notice for Disorder which are a form of Fixed Penalty Notice and are available by police force area only at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/282985/2-out-of-court-disposals-tables.xls

Legal Profession: Regulation

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will review existing trade descriptions legislation and its effect on regulating companies that describe themselves or hold themselves to be acting as legal firms.

Shailesh Vara: Most of the Trade Descriptions legislation has been replaced by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. These regulations prohibit traders from engaging in unfair commercial practices against consumers. The regulations apply across all business sectors and set out a framework for how businesses must deal with consumers.
	It is also an offence under section 21 of the Solicitors Act 1974 for an unqualified person to wilfully pretend to be a solicitor and section 24 of that Act makes equivalent provision in relation to a body corporate. Section 17 of the Legal Services Act 2007 makes it an offence to wilfully pretend to be entitled to carry on a reserved legal activity. The reserved legal activities are: (a) the exercise of a right of audience, (b) the conduct of litigation, (c) reserved instrument activities, (d) probate activities, (e) notarial activities and (f) the administration of oaths.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals of each nationality were deported from jails in London to complete their sentences in their home countries in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014 to date.

Jeremy Wright: All prisoners who are transferred to a prison in their country in order to serve their remaining sentence leave from Wandsworth Prison (in London) if they are male and Holloway Prison (in London) if they are female. They may, however, only be transferred there shortly before transfer.
	The numbers of transfers are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of prisoner transfers (out of England and Wales) 
			 2010 47 
			 2011 43 
			 2012 41 
			 2013 43 
			 2014 (to date) 116 
			 1 Total at 3 July 2014. 
		
	
	The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed over 240 FNOs to date.
	Whereas this Government has begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.

Prisoners: Suicide

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners committed suicide in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Wright: The number of self-inflicted deaths in prison custody for the last 10 years is published in the Safety in Custody statistical bulletin which is available at:
	http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics
	We are working hard to manage the levels of self-harm in prison and are carefully investigating the rise in self-inflicted deaths.
	We are applying strenuous efforts to learn from each one and providing further resources and support to prisons to help support their safer custody work.

Probation: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in Ashfield constituency have been on probation in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: Since 2010, crime has continued to fall and fewer individuals are entering the criminal justice system for the first time. The Government is committed to transforming the way that offenders are dealt with in the community; Transforming Rehabilitation is a reform programme that is changing the way offenders are managed in the community to bring down re-offending rates while continuing to protect the public.
	Information available centrally on offenders on probation does not allow a breakdown of cases by parliamentary constituency.

Sentencing

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people who (a) were given a non-custodial sentence and (b) were given their first custodial sentence in each year from 2004 had previously had (i) no criminal convictions, (ii) one criminal conviction, (iii) two criminal convictions, (iv) three criminal convictions, (v) four criminal convictions, (vi) five to 10 criminal convictions, (vii) 11 to 20 criminal convictions, (viii) 21 to 30 criminal convictions, (ix) 31 to 40 criminal convictions, (x) 41 to 50 criminal convictions, (xi) 51 to 75, (xii) 76 to 100 criminal convictions and (xiii) more than 100 criminal convictions.

Jeremy Wright: Since 2010, crime has continued to fall and fewer individuals are entering the criminal justice system for the first time. But we have a persistent hardcore of offenders being recycled round and round the criminal justice system, as these figures bear out.
	This Government is committed to tackling reoffending rates. We have reformed sentences, so that they combine both punishment and requirements that are effective at preventing further offending. We have legislated so that all community orders must now have a punitive element, and, from 2015, every offender leaving prison spends at least 12 months under supervision, where currently around 50,000 are released each year with no statutory support. We are transforming rehabilitation, by bringing together the best of the public, private and voluntary sectors, and only rewarding them when they actually do reduce reoffending.
	Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking account of the circumstances of the case and the maximum penalty for the offence. A court may only impose a community order or a custodial sentence where the offence is imprisonable. The overwhelming majority of repeat offenders have previously received a number of custodial sentences but the large majority of previous convictions identified in the following table resulted in a fine as they were for summary non-motoring offences.
	The number of offenders who were given a non-custodial sentence in each year since 2004, broken down by their number of previous convictions, is given in Table 1. It is important to note that these figures are based only on those offences recorded on the Police National Computer (PNC) by an English or Welsh police force, including the British Transport Police, and include a number of offences for which the maximum sentence available to the court is a fine. It should also be noted that these figures are based on counting the number of separate occasions on which offenders were sentenced in each year and some offenders will therefore be represented several times in the figures.
	Table 2 provides a similar breakdown for those offenders who received their first custodial sentence in each year. Again, the figures are drawn from the PNC and will include a number of offences for which the maximum sentence available to the court is a fine. A large proportion of each offender’s criminal history is therefore likely to include some offences for which it is not possible to receive a custodial sentence. Of those offenders who had between 76 and 100 previous convictions between the 12 months ending September 2004 and the 12 months ending September 2013, 84% of the disposals for their previous convictions were fines. This increases to 96% when you look at the offenders who had over 100 previous convictions. It should also be noted that these figures are based on counting the number of separate occasions on which offenders were sentenced in each year and some offenders could therefore be represented several times in the figures.
	The number of offenders who have received at least one previous conviction, or indeed multiple previous convictions, before receiving their first custodial sentence has decreased under this Government.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of offenders1 given a non-custodial sentence for an offence in England and Wales, in each year since 2004 for the 12 months ending September, by number of previous2 convictions 
			 12 month period to the end of September 
			 Number of previous convictions2 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 No previous convictions 146,093 144,729 146,786 148,920 143,898 137,457 132,475 125,065 112,687 102,415 
			 1 previous conviction 67,494 63,872 65,466 67,382 66,167 63,938 62,224 57,593 51,264 46,165 
			 2 previous convictions 44,410 41,227 41,983 42,959 42,155 41,081 40,091 37,597 33,700 30,853 
			 3 previous convictions 33,263 30,884 30,978 31,620 31,241 29,902 29,565 28,155 25,414 23,527 
			 4 previous convictions 26,138 24,027 24,188 25,180 24,575 23,734 23,509 22,237 20,411 18,882 
			 5 - 10 previous convictions 91,792 83,783 83,800 85,008 87,250 85,341 83,522 81,150 74,429 69,401 
			 11 - 20 previous convictions 62,601 57,736 57,139 58,189 61,352 62,285 61,922 62,216 58,187 55,533 
			 21 - 30 previous convictions 22,518 22,074 22,674 23,460 26,020 27,135 27,156 28,367 28,023 27,633 
			 31 - 40 previous convictions 7,383 7,761 8,291 9,114 10,793 11,857 12,182 13,187 13,436 13,992 
			 41 - 50 previous convictions 2,648 2,665 3,037 3,493 4,487 4,941 5,551 6,243 6,382 7,033 
			 51 - 75 previous convictions 1,853 1,941 1,980 2,308 2,960 3,637 4,068 4,776 5,328 5,918 
			 76 -100 previous convictions 603 462 486 640 793 849 957 1,023 1,279 1,513 
			 Over 100 previous convictions 654 680 628 621 817 828 831 987 960 1,079 
			 All offenders 507,450 481,841 487,436 498,894 502,508 492,985 484,053 468,596 431,500 403,944 
			 1 Figures are based on counting the number of non-custodial sentencing occasions for offences committed by offenders which were prosecuted by police forces in England and Wales including the British Transport Police. Offenders may appear more than once in the year, where they have been sentenced on multiple occasions within the year. 2 Figures are based on counting the number of occasions on which offenders have previously received a conviction for any offence recorded on the Police National Computer, including some offences committed outside of England and Wales. Where there were multiple offences on the same occasion, only the primary offence as recorded on the Police National Computer would be counted. Note: All data have been taken from the MOJ extract of the Police National Computer. This includes details of all convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings given for recordable offences (see www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/1139/schedule/made for definition). It is therefore possible that some offenders presented in the table above have previously also received convictions for offences not recorded on the PNC. Some less serious offences that do not attract a custodial sentence are also included on the PNC, usually when accompanied by a recordable offence in the same case. Source: Ministry of Justice, Police National Computer (PNC). 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of offenders1 given their first custodial sentence for an offence in England and Wales, in each year since 2004 for the 12 months ending September, by number of previous2 convictions 
			 12 month period to the end of September 
			 Number of previous convictions2 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 No previous convictions 11,408 11,588 11,883 12,039 13,573 13,014 12,713 11,869 11,579 10,117 
			 1 previous conviction 4,865 4,855 4,665 4,660 4,934 5,114 5,017 4,852 4,903 4,037 
			 2 previous convictions 3,851 3,757 3,664 3,607 3,619 3,700 3,566 3,590 3,350 2,651 
			 3 previous convictions 3,156 3,072 2,985 2,790 2,975 2,954 2,769 2,653 2,560 2,071 
			 4 previous convictions 2,589 2,444 2,315 2,290 2,376 2,284 2,200 2,185 2,078 1,649 
			 5 - 10 previous convictions 7,216 6,861 6,559 6,695 7,088 6,811 6,555 6,508 6,144 4,777 
			 11 - 20 previous convictions 1,524 1,440 1,491 1,552 1,717 1,770 1,837 1,926 1,834 1,527 
			 21 - 30 previous convictions 51 91 84 84 83 125 125 171 183 147 
			 31 - 40 previous convictions 11 10 7 5 8 12 9 12 21 22 
			 41 - 50 previous convictions 6 4 5 4 1 1 1 1 2 3 
			 51 - 75 previous convictions 4 4 4 1 1 3 0 5 3 0 
			 76 - 100 previous convictions 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 
			 Over 100 previous convictions 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 
			 All offenders 34,681 34,126 33,663 33,730 36,376 35,789 34,793 33,773 32,658 27,001 
			 1 Figures are based on counting the first sentencing occasion, in each year, an offender was sentenced to immediate custody for offence(s) which were prosecuted by police forces in England and Wales including the British Transport Police. 2 Figures are based on counting the number of occasions on which offenders have previously received a conviction for any offence recorded on the Police National Computer, including some offences committed outside of England and Wales. Where there were multiple offences on the same occasion, only the primary offence as recorded on the Police National Computer would be counted Note: All data have been taken from the MOJ extract of the Police National Computer. This includes details of all convictions, cautions, reprimands or warnings given for recordable offences (see www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/1139/schedule/made for definition). It is therefore possible that some offenders presented in the table above have previously also received convictions for offences not recorded on the PNC. Some less serious offences that do not attract a custodial sentence are also included on the PNC, usually when accompanied by a recordable offence in the same case. Source: Ministry of Justice, Police National Computer (PNC).

Sexual Offences

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the Bar Standards Board on requiring advocates who handle sexual abuse cases to undertake appropriate specialist training.

Shailesh Vara: We have begun discussions with the Bar Council, and officials have met with the Bar Standards Board, on the recommendations in the Jeffrey Review of criminal defence advocacy, which include consideration by the profession of a ticketing system for defence advocates, who appear in rape and sexual abuse cases to ensure they have undergone relevant training.

Young Offenders

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders aged 18 to 21 years were held in each prison establishment in England and Wales on the latest date for which data is available.

Jeremy Wright: There has been a fall in numbers of young adult offenders over the last five years and it is believed this is explained by a general fall in the numbers of young people being sentenced, in particular being sentenced to immediate custody. We will always have enough prison capacity for those committed by the courts.
	The following table presents the number of young adults aged between 18 and 21 (inclusive) held in each custodial establishment in England and Wales on 31 March 2014. It includes:
	young offenders who have turned 18 in custody and are in the youth secure estate;
	those aged 18 to 20 who are sentenced to detention in a young offender institution (DYOI) or custody for life who are generally held in a (18-20) YOI;
	21-year-olds who are sentenced to imprisonment and are held in adult prisons;
	18 to 21-year-olds who are remanded in custody and may be held in (18-20) YOIs or prisons;
	18 to 21-year-olds who are held under immigration powers and may be in (18-20) YOIs, prisons or immigration removal centres.
	
		
			 Number of individuals in custody aged 18 to 21 by establishment, at 31 March 2014, England and Wales 
			 Establishment Number 
			 Altcourse 223 
			 Ashfield 1— 
			 Askham Grange 1— 
			 Aylesbury 380 
			 Bedford 36 
			 Belmarsh 87 
			 Birmingham 49 
			 Brinsford 531 
			 Bristol 57 
			 Brixton 8 
			 Bronzefield 45 
			 Buckley Hall 13 
			 Bullingdon 78 
			 Bure 1— 
			 Cardiff 80 
			 Channings Wood 13 
			 Chelmsford 67 
			 Coldingley 11 
			 Cookham Wood 20 
			 Dartmoor 8 
			 Deerbolt 495 
			 Doncaster 242 
			 Dovegate 23 
			 Drake Hall 22 
		
	
	
		
			 Durham 98 
			 East Sutton Park 1— 
			 Eastwood Park 30 
			 Elmley (Sheppey cluster) 128 
			 Erlestoke 1— 
			 Exeter 61 
			 Featherstone 20 
			 Feltham 418 
			 Ford 10 
			 Forest Bank 164 
			 Foston Hall 19 
			 Frankland 1— 
			 Full Sutton 1— 
			 Garth 12 
			 Gartree 5 
			 Glen Parva 650 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 7 
			 Guys Marsh 8 
			 Haverigg 22 
			 Hewell 32 
			 High Down 126 
			 Highpoint (North and South) 32 
			 Hindley 129 
			 Hollesley Bay 18 
			 Holloway 33 
			 Holme House 79 
			 Hull 84 
			 Humber 28 
			 Huntercombe 1— 
			 Isis 312 
			 Isle of Wight 1— 
			 Kennet 1— 
			 Kirkham 1— 
			 Lancaster Farms 405 
			 Leeds 27 
			 Leicester 15 
			 Lewes 65 
			 Lincoln 35 
			 Lindholme 37 
			 Littlehey 399 
			 Liverpool 49 
			 Long Lartin 8 
			 Low Newton 19 
			 Lowdham Grange 16 
			 Maidstone 15 
			 Manchester 35 
			 Moorland / Hatfield 139 
			 Mount 13 
			 New Hall 31 
			 North Sea Camp 1— 
			 Northumberland 28 
			 Norwich 96 
			 Nottingham 94 
			 Oakwood 25 
			 Onley 19 
			 Parc 188 
			 Pentonville 152 
			 Peterborough 70 
			 Portland 223 
			 Preston 76 
			 Ranby 38 
			 Risley 29 
			 Rochester 121 
			 Rye Hill 11 
		
	
	
		
			 Send 1— 
			 Stafford 15 
			 Standford Hill (Sheppey cluster) 1— 
			 Stocken 22 
			 Stoke Heath 32 
			 Styal 36 
			 Sudbury 8 
			 Swaleside (Sheppey cluster) 14 
			 Swansea 50 
			 Swinfen Hall 348 
			 Thameside 114 
			 Thorn Cross 34 
			 Usk / Prescoed 10 
			 Verne 1— 
			 Wakefield 1— 
			 Wandsworth 106 
			 Wayland 29 
			 Wealstun 34 
			 Werrington 13 
			 Wetherby 27 
			 Whatton 5 
			 Whitemoor 1— 
			 Winchester 72 
			 Woodhill 80 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 114 
			 Wymott 22 
			 Dover Immigration Removal Centre 44 
			 Haslar Immigration Removal Centre 10 
			 Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre 38 
			 All 8,812 
			 1 Establishments with less than five individuals. Data sources and quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Travel

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what occasions each Minister within his Department has taken domestic flights on official business since May 2010.

Dan Rogerson: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Details of all ministerial overseas travel is published on a quarterly basis.

Fixed Penalties

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what statistics his Department holds on the use of fixed penalty notices in each local authority area.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA has not collected statistics on the use of fixed penalties by local authorities since 2008-09. Data from previous years can be viewed at:
	www.data.gov.uk
	Since 2009 the Environment Agency has issued 71 fixed penalty notices for offences under the waste Duty of Care and the hazardous waste regulations.

Nature Conservation

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will introduce legislative proposals to enshrine the concept of a listed landscape.

George Eustice: National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are well established national landscape designations that define areas with particular landscape qualities that merit protection. They are the jewels in the crown of our country’s landscape and are given the strongest protection from damaging development.
	While DEFRA has no plans to introduce legislation to identify listed landscapes, English Heritage maintains a 'Register of Historic Parks and Gardens’ which identifies over 1,600 sites assessed to be of national importance.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with his French counterpart on the effects of the EU Sulphur Directive on (a) the shipping industry, (b) jobs and (c) the environment; and what the outcomes of those discussions were.

Dan Rogerson: There have not been any discussions with our French counterparts on these matters. The shipping aspects of the EU Sulphur Directive do not fall within DEFRA’s area of responsibility.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond), on 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 334W.

TREASURY

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) internal and (b) external complaints have been received by his Department about alleged breaches of the Civil Service Code of Conduct since 2010; and what actions his Department has taken in response to each such complaint.

David Gauke: The Civil Service Code sets out the clear procedure that civil servants should follow if they believe they are being required to act in a way which conflicts with the code, or they become aware of action by others which they believe conflicts with the code. Complaints are normally dealt with by the line management chain in the first instance, with the most serious cases escalated to senior managers, HR or the permanent secretary. Because most issues are dealt with locally or within the line management chain, there is no formal or systematic register of all complaints within the Department.
	Where a civil servant is not satisfied with how the matter has been handled by a Department, he or she can raise the matter with the Civil Service Commission. The Commission publishes details of the number of complaints received annually.

Corporation Tax: Kent

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid in corporation tax by businesses registered in Dover and Deal in each of the last five years; and what proportion of such taxation was paid by small and medium-sized enterprises.

David Gauke: Since 2010 the Government has cut the main rate of corporation tax from 28% to 21%. It will fall further to 20% in April 2015. The small profits rate was cut to 20% in April 2011. These corporation tax cuts will be worth around £9.5 billion per year to businesses by 2016-17.
	The table sets out the amount of corporation tax liable for payment by businesses with a registered address in the Dover parliamentary constituency for accounting periods ending in the past five years. The latest year for which figures are available is 2011-12.
	
		
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Corporation tax liability (£ million) 14 14 12 13 16 
		
	
	Figures on the amount of tax paid, broken down by company size, are not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Credit: Interest Rates

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with banks about the consequences for a mortgage application of taking out a payday loan.

David Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss relevant policy issues.
	In making mortgage lending decisions, lenders must follow the appropriate regulatory and legislative requirements. Beyond this, decisions about who they lend to and on what terms are a commercial matter, including how they use information about existing or previous credit commitments.
	Credit risk models and approaches vary between lenders, so while a history of payday loans may prevent a borrower taking out a loan with one lender, others may take a different approach.

Derelict Land: Taxation

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to introduce a derelict land tax.

David Gauke: The Government has no intention of introducing a tax on derelict land. The Government does not believe that increasing the cost of holding derelict land would be an effective way to incentivise development. The Government is instead focusing on other more effective measures to address stalled sites such as introducing a right of appeal against economically unviable affordable housing (section 106) obligations, and incentivising the development of derelict land through Land Remediation Relief.

Mapeley

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the (a) compliance and (b) performance of Mapeley STEPS Contractor Limited following HM Revenue and Custom's last audit of such compliance and performance of Mapeley STEPS Contractor Limited in respect of the Annual PM Schedule under 17.1(a) of the Private Finance Initiative contract between HM Revenue and Customs and Mapeley STEPS Contractor Limited;
	(2)  when HM Revenue and Customs last audited the (a) compliance and (b) performance of Mapeley STEPS Contractor Limited in respect of the Annual PM Schedule, under 17.1(a) of the Private Finance Initiative contract between HM Revenue and Customs and Mapeley STEPS Contractor Limited.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) monitors the performance of its contractor regularly under a range of provisions. Commercial discussions between HMRC and its suppliers are confidential.

Minimum Wage: Scotland

Pamela Nash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 April 2013, Official Report, column 1177W, on minimum wage: Scotland, how many staff were in the national minimum wage team monitoring Scotland at the most recent date in 2014 for which records are available.

David Gauke: The Government takes the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) very seriously. HMRC review every complaint that is referred to them by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. In addition, by collating and analysing data received from various sources, HMRC ensure targeted enforcement through robust risk assessment processes to identify employers across the United Kingdom who are more likely to be not paying NMW.
	I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 111W, that HMRC deploys resources to risk, so work relating to a specific geographical area is not always undertaken by the NMW team based in that area.

Revenue and Customs

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that sharing of customer information collected by HM Revenue and Customs is subject to appropriate safeguards.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is bound by a strict duty of confidentiality with respect to all of the information it holds in connection with its functions. This is underpinned by a criminal sanction to protect against the unlawful disclosure of information that identifies a person or through which their identity can be deduced. HMRC officials may share information only in the limited circumstances set out in legislation, which include disclosures for the purposes of HMRC’s functions, through specific legislative gateways or with the consent of the subject of the information.
	After establishing that there is a valid legal basis to disclose, any disclosures must also be compliant with the Data Protection Act and Human Rights Act. HMRC also operates rigorous and robust security processes and safeguards which are in line with industry best practice. Legislative gateways include restrictions and safeguards to control how information may be used.

HOME DEPARTMENT

ICT

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mobile telephones, BlackBerrys and laptops were lost by her Department in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Karen Bradley: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), can confirm the information relating to lost, and stolen, mobile phones, BlackBerrys and laptops can be found on the following link to the Home Office webpage on the Gov.UK website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/306918/2013_Annual_ICT_Losses.csv/preview
	
		
			 January to December 2013 
			 Device/Incident Total 
			 Lost BlackBerrys/Mobile Phones 62 
			 Stolen BlackBerrys/Mobile Phones 12 
			 Lost Laptops 3 
			 Stolen Laptops 5 
			 Lost Removable Media 1 
			 Stolen Removable Media 0 
			 Recovered BlackBerrys/Mobiles 2 
			 Recovered Laptops 0 
		
	
	Information is recorded and published under calendar year; information on items lost and stolen for 2014 will be published in early 2015.

Terrorism

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government has taken to prevent UK citizens from joining terrorist movements in Egypt and Syria.

Karen Bradley: The Government takes the issues of radicalisation, extremism and the threat posed by UK citizens who join terrorist movements abroad extremely seriously.
	We are particularly concerned about those who travel to Syria to fight. Our first priority is to dissuade people from going through public messaging, community events and bespoke interventions. The police and intelligence services are also undertaking a great deal of work to disrupt terrorist activity.
	While the main effort is dissuading people from travel, the intelligence agencies and police are working to identify and disrupt potential threats. This includes interviewing individuals at the UK border suspected of being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, and cancelling or withdrawing passports of some UK nationals of concern seeking to travel to Syria. People who become involved with fighting in Syria could potentially be prosecuted under UK law on their return. But each case is considered individually. If the police refer a case to the Crown Prosecution Service, they consider whether there is sufficient evidence of any offence, and if so, whether it is in the public interest to prosecute.

EDUCATION

Academies

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the sponsor capacity funds awarded by his Department to the Third Millennium Education Trust were returned to his Department.

Edward Timpson: The Sponsor Capacity Fund awarded to the Third Millennium Education Trust was returned to the Department for Education on 29 January 2013.

Basic Skills: South East

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of levels of literacy and numeracy in (a) primary school leavers and (b) secondary school leavers in (i) Brighton, Kemptown constituency, (ii) East Sussex and (iii) South East England in each of the last five years.

David Laws: Key stage 2 national curriculum assessment statistics are published online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-key-stage-2
	GCSE attainment statistics are published online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4
	Attainment statistics by Parliamentary constituency are published online at:
	www.education.gov.uk/inyourarea/
	Information that is not already in the public domain has been placed in the House Library.

Education: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much (a) revenue and (b) capital funding was provided to each pupil in state (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Warrington in (A) cash terms and (B) at 2014 prices in each year since 1995-96.

David Laws: As Warrington only became a local authority in 1998 as a result of local government reorganisation, comparable funding data is only available from this date.
	Average per pupil revenue funding figures, from the Department to local authorities, for pupils aged 3-10 (primary) and 11-15 (secondary) for Warrington specifically for years 1997-98 to 2005-06 are as follows. These figures are in cash terms:
	
		
			 Average Per Pupil Revenue Funding (cash) 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 
			 Warrington LA (primary) 1,856 1,973 2,123 2,337 2,540 2,670 2,896 3,046 3,321 
			 Warrington LA (secondary) 2,579 2,711 2,841 3,075 3,287 3,472 3,633 3,886 4,124 
		
	
	These figures are in real terms using June 2014 GDP deflators in 2013-14 prices:
	
		
			 Average Per Pupil Revenue Funding (real) 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 
			 Warrington LA (primary) 2,618 2,730 2,881 3,149 3,333 3,424 3,642 3,728 3,992 
			 Warrington LA (secondary) 3,637 3,752 3,856 4,145 4,313 4,452 4,570 4,757 4,957 
		
	
	Per pupil figures using standard spending assessment (SSA)/education formula share (EFS) allocations and pupils aged 3-15.
	With the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07, the changes to the funding mechanism meant figures were no longer comparable with previous years.
	The 1997-98 to 2005-06 figures are based on EFS which formed the education part of the local government finance settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. The DSG is based largely on an authority’s previous spending. In addition, the DSG has a different coverage to EFS. EFS comprised a schools block and a local education authority (LEA) block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the EFS school block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG’s local government finance settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. Consequently, there is a break in the Department’s time series as the two sets of data are not comparable.
	To provide a comparison for 2006-07 DSG, the Department has isolated the EFS school block equivalent funding in 2005-06; as described above this does not represent the totality of ‘education’ funding in that year.
	Figures for financial years 2005 to 2013 are shown as follows. These are in cash terms:
	
		
			 Average revenue per pupil funding (cash) 2005-06(baseline) 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Warrington LA 3,630 3,840 4,100 4,300 4,490 4,730 4,670 4,670 
		
	
	These are in real terms using June 2014 GDP deflators in 2013-14 prices:
	
		
			 Average revenue per pupil funding (cash) 2005-06(baseline) 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Warrington LA 4,370 4,490 4,670 4,760 4,850 4,970 4,800 4,750 
		
	
	Per pupil figures are using DSG allocations plus other schools related grants, eg school standards grant, school standards grant (personalisation), standards fund etc. and pupils aged 3-15 rounded to the nearest £10. Most of the additional grants were mainstreamed into DSG in 2011-12.
	With the changes to DSG funding in financial year 2013 to 2014, i.e. funding allocated through three blocks, namely schools, early years and high needs, there is no longer a comparable overall figure with previous years. The following table shows the DSG schools block unit funding figures in cash and real terms for Warrington LA.
	
		
			 DSG schools block per pupil funding 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Warrington LA (cash) 4,219 4,219 
			 Warrington LA (real)* 4,219 4,128 
			 * Real terms figures shown in 2013-14 prices using GDP deflators at 27 June 2014. 
		
	
	Since 2011-12 schools have received the Pupil Premium which targets funding at pupils from the most deprived backgrounds to help them achieve their full potential. In 2011-12, the Premium was allocated for each pupil known to be eligible for Free School Meals, looked after children and children of parents in the armed services. In 2012-13 coverage was expanded to include pupils known to have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years. The amounts per pupil amounts for each type of pupil are shown in following table in cash terms:
	
		
			 Pupil Premium per pupil (£) 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Free School Meal Pupil Primary 488 623 953 1,300 
			 Free School Meal Pupil Secondary 488 623 900 935 
			 Service Children 200 250 300 300 
			 Looked After Children 488 623 900 *1,900 
			 *Also includes children adopted from care. 
		
	
	Total Pupil Premium allocations for Warrington local authority for each year are shown in the following table in cash terms:
	
		
			 Pupil Premium Allocations (£ million) 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Warrington 1.720 3.389 5.281 6.899 
		
	
	These figures in real terms:
	
		
			 Pupil Premium Allocations (£ million) 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Warrington 1.769 3.447 5.281 6.750 
		
	
	Price Base: Real terms at 2013-14 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 27 June 2014
	The following table shows capital funding for the financial years that are available. The data is in cash terms as allocations are phased across more than one year making real terms calculations meaningless. Complete information on the split of capital between phases of education is not held centrally.
	
		
			 Warrington Capital funding 
			 1998-99 3.70 
			 1999-2000 4.70 
			 2000-01 8.70 
			 2001-02 10.00 
			 2002-03 11.70 
			 2003-04 10.60 
			 2004-05 10.30 
			 2005-06 12.20 
			 2006-07 12.70 
			 2007-08 10.40 
			 2008-09 10.60 
			 2009-10 19.40 
			 2010-11 18.40 
			 2011-12 5.60 
			 2012-13 7.10 
			 2013-14 8.60 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Capital allocations includes capital grant and supported borrowing allocations.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000.
	Sources:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-2014-to-2015
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2013-to-2014-final-allocation-tables
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-illustrative-allocation-tables
	webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20131216163513/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding
	Warrington also received £1.3 million in 2007-8, £3.4 million in 2008-9, £18.2 million in 2009-10, and £0.9 million in 2010-11 under the BSF programme.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of secondary school students in Gloucestershire qualify for the pupil premium.

David Laws: Tables detailing the number of pupils eligible for the pupil premium in the financial year 2014-15 at school and local authority level are available online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-illustrative-allocation-tables/
	The tables show that 18.2% of secondary school pupils in Gloucestershire are eligible for the deprivation pupil premium in 2014-15.

Schools: Finance

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment the Government has made of the impact on school budgets in 2016-17 of planned changes in pension and national insurance contributions.

David Laws: The Government’s position on the change in employer contribution rate for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme was published in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Valuation Report (Actuarial Valuation as at 31 March 2012), which is available here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/324305/TPS_2012_valuation_report_FINAL_9_June_2014.pdf
	The position for non-teaching staff is less clear-cut as they are covered by the Local Government Pension Scheme, which consists of around 90 different funds, and thus the change in employer costs as a result of recent reforms will vary from fund to fund.
	The expected changes in National Insurance for employers as a result of moves to a single tier state pension were set out in the impact assessments for Pensions Act 2014, which are available here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/311316/pensions-act-ia-annex-a-single-tier-state-pension.pdf

Schools: Uniforms

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education under what circumstances schools are permitted to require religious headcoverings or other religious items as part of compulsory uniform; and if he will issue revised guidance on this matter to Ofsted.

David Laws: Our guidance to schools on school uniform is clear that schools must have full regard to their obligations under equalities law, and act reasonably, fairly and flexibly in the interests of all their students.
	A school that required compulsory religious items as part of its policy may be at risk of breaching the Equality Act 2010; we would expect all schools to act flexibly in response to reasonable requests to vary their uniform policy.
	The Department’s guidance on school uniform is available online:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform

Sixth Form Education

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate his Department has made of the level of funding for each pupil aged 16 to 18 years old in each academic year until 2020.

David Laws: We confirm final funding rates for 16 to 19-year-olds in the spring before the start of each academic year. We confirmed rates for academic year 2014/15 in March 2014. We will confirm rates for 2015/16 in March 2015. Budgets beyond 2015/16 will not be agreed until after the Government’s next spending review.

Sixth Form Education

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the effect of an increase in the numbers of young people at school age on funding for provision for 16 to 18-year-olds in each year of the next Parliament.

Matthew Hancock: Funding for provision for 16 to 19-year-olds in the next Parliament will be subject to the next spending round.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance the Minister of State for Cities and Constitution has given to local enterprise partnerships on informing (a) district councils and (b) hon. Members about Growth Deal schemes before briefing the media; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: Growth Deals are negotiated between the Government and local enterprise partnerships. It was for every local enterprise partnership to determine who to contact in advance of the announcement of their deal.
	I wrote to all hon. Members with constituencies in England on the morning of 7 July, the day of the Growth Deals announcement, setting out full details of the Growth Deal in their area.

SCOTLAND

Civil Servants: Codes of Practice

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) internal and (b) external complaints have been received by his Department about alleged breaches of the Civil Service Code of Conduct since 2010; and what actions his Department has taken in response to each such complaint.

David Mundell: The Office has not received any (a) internal and (b) external complaints about alleged breaches of the Civil Service Code of Conduct by individual officials since 2010.

Commonwealth Games 2014

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what contribution his Department is making to the preparations for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office is committed to the success of the Commonwealth Games and has played a co-ordinating role in UK Government departments’ vital work on the preparations for the Games in a wide range of areas. Scotland Office Ministers and officials have been in extensive, regular and proactive contact with ministerial colleagues and officials in other UK Government Departments, with Shona Robison MSP (Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for the Commonwealth Games) and her officials, with Councillor Gordon Matheson and others in Glasgow City Council, with the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee, and with Police Scotland, and other stakeholders, to ensure that UK Government departments, fulfilling their reserved responsibilities, work as closely as possible with the devolved Administration and the Organising Committee.

Domestic Visits

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which official welfare-related engagements in Scotland (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department have attended together with Ministers in the Department of Work and Pensions since May 2010.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland, the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) and I have carried out a series of welfare related visits from which we have fed back to DWP Ministers. DWP have also carried out a series of welfare related meetings. Specific accompanied visits are:
	In 2011 the then Secretary of State for Scotland undertook in April a visit to High Riggs Jobcentre Plus with Chris Grayling, and in May attended a youth employment event in Irvine with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith).
	In November 2012, Lord Freud and I undertook a series of welfare related engagements including meeting with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Edinburgh council and Dunedin Canmore Housing Association; discussions with locally elected members from Dumfries and Galloway, West Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire; and meeting with the Scottish Parliament Welfare Reform Committee.
	In July 2013, Lord Freud and I met with both the Scottish Minister for Housing and Welfare, Margaret Burgess MSP and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), at Lord Freud’s office in London.
	Lord Freud and I also attended the 2013 Annual COSLA Conference where Lord Freud gave a key note speech on welfare reform.
	I recently completed a second round of meetings with all 32 local authorities in Scotland to seek their feedback on how the welfare reform changes are working in practice. I was also pleased to give evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee on the 26 June 2014.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Ministers: Disclosure of Information

Pat Glass: To ask the Leader of the House what recent guidance he has given to his ministerial colleagues on making statements to the House before they are made to the media.

Andrew Lansley: The Ministerial Code is clear; when Parliament is in session the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance to Parliament.
	I regularly remind my colleagues of this.

Private Members' Bills

William Bain: To ask the Leader of the House what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues about Private Members' Bills.

Andrew Lansley: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues about legislation before the House, including Private Members' Bills.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Elections: Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will produce a list of significant cases of electoral fraud resulting in custodial sentences since 1998; and what political party was involved in each case.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the requested data for the period 1998-2012 is contained in Appendix 3 of its evidence and issues paper on electoral fraud published in May 2013. This may be found on the Commission’s website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/electoral-fraud/electoral-fraud-vulnerabilities-review#
	In addition, since the publication of its paper in May 2013 a case of personation, misconduct in public office and intention to pervert the course of justice at the Derby Council elections in 2012 resulted in one defendant being jailed for 14 months and three other defendants each being given suspended jail sentences of 8 months. The Commission understands that none of those convicted in this case were shown to be linked to a political party.

Elections: Fraud

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many successful prosecutions for (a) postal, not proxy, vote fraud and (b) electoral registration fraud there have been in each of the last 15 years.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that data for offences under the various Representation of the People Acts which specifically refer to offences relating to electoral registration fraud, or postal vote fraud cannot be separately identified on the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database as they form part of a miscellaneous group which cannot be separately analysed. However, since 2008, the Electoral Commission has collated and published data reported by UK police forces on cases of alleged electoral fraud annually on its website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/electoral-fraud/electoral-fraud-responsibilities

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many electors have registered online since the introduction of online registration; and what steps the Electoral Commission is taking to encourage online registration.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the numbers of people who have registered online falls within the remit of the Cabinet Office, which is leading on online registration.
	The Electoral Commission is taking a range of steps to encourage online registration, including providing template letters for electoral registration officers (EROs) to send to residents highlighting the fact that people can register online and directing them to the registration site (gov.uk/register-to-vote). The Commission has also made a range of publicity resources available for EROs to use in their local public engagement activity which direct people to the gov.uk site. These will work in conjunction with the Commission’s mass media public awareness campaign to coincide with the ‘write out’ EROs are doing in their areas and which takes place in England and Wales in July/August and in October in Scotland. The Commission is also working with partners and stakeholders, including political parties, businesses, voluntary organisations and the media, to ensure the message about online registration and the gov.uk/register-to-vote address is spread as widely as possible.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, 
	(1)  what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of public awareness of the change from household to individual electoral registration;
	(2)  how much the Electoral Commission has spent on public awareness campaigns on the change from household to individual electoral registration; and what assessment the Commission has made of the effectiveness of those campaigns.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the budget for the first phase of its individual electoral registration (IER) public awareness campaign-which is timed to coincide with the 'write out' from electoral registration officers to everyone in their area-is approximately £3 million.
	The campaign is running in England and Wales from 3 July to 10 August and a separate campaign will run in Scotland when IER is introduced there in the autumn. The Commission will use a range of measures to assess the effectiveness of the campaigns, including undertaking campaign tracking research studies at the start and conclusion of each campaign.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, for what reason the Electoral Commission first decided to undertake research into the completeness of the electoral register; and why further work on this issue has now been commissioned.

Gary Streeter: The Commission’s first research on the completeness and accuracy of the registers was published in 2005, using 2001 census data. The research was undertaken to gain estimates of the quality of the electoral registers and to continue a series of published reports following each census, which had previously been funded/overseen by the Office for Public Censuses and Surveys and the Home Office.
	The 2005 report, and subsequent research, have informed the advice, guidance and resources the Commission produces to help get people registered, as well as the public awareness campaigns the Commission runs itself.
	All of its current planned research is focused on monitoring the transition to individual electoral registration.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the effect of the removal of electors who failed to register under individual electoral registration before 1 December 2015 on the next boundary review.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission will report on the number of individuals on the registers before the next UK parliamentary general election that will be removed if the transition to individual electoral registration will end in December 2015.
	As usual, the Commission will ensure the information is publicly available and it will be for the Boundary Commissions and those responsible for boundaries to assess their impact.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2014, Official Report, column 613W, on electoral register: young people, what the EC's policy is on publishing data which it holds but has not commissioned.

Gary Streeter: The Commission informs me that it does not have policy on publishing data which it holds but has not commissioned.
	The data referred to in the original question is publicly available on the Office for National Statistics’ website and can be accessed by every member of the public.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2014, Official Report, column 613W, on electoral register, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the accuracy of two separate pilot schemes which data mined Student Loans Company data.

Gary Streeter: The Commission has published an evaluation report on each of the two data-matching pilots conducted using data from the Student Loans Company.
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/electoral-registration-research
	In 2012, the Commission found that there were very few registrations from data matching with the Student Loans Company (SLC) database. This, and responses to the follow-up activity, support the view expressed by the SLC that the data used for these pilots (at the end of the academic year) was sometimes out of date.
	In 2013, the Commission concluded that there were some issues with the addresses on this data being incomplete. Only one pilot area reported usable results for this database and this pilot area reported a low number of new registrations.

Voting Behaviour

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what role the Electoral Commission has in promoting political engagement; and what assessment the Commission has made of the contribution of ward level data or voter turnout at general elections to monitoring political engagement.

Gary Streeter: Until 2007 the Commission delivered both its own programmes to increase voter turnout and engagement and funded a range of voluntary and other providers to deliver such work, with a particular focus on encouraging under-engaged groups to vote.
	Since 2007 the Commission’s work has focused on increasing voter registration, providing information to help people vote and improving the regulation necessary to foster public confidence in political parties and their funding. Partly for this reason the Commission has not considered the contribution of ward level data to monitoring political engagement at general elections.
	The shift in focus in 2007 was in line with the conclusions of the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL)’s report into the Electoral Commission that year, which said that pursuing the aims of increasing voter turnout and democratic participation was not the most effective use of its limited resources. The Speaker’s Committee supported this change, and both the Government and Opposition at the time agreed with this shift. The Commission welcomes opportunities, such as those provided by the current review of the Political and Constitutional Reform (PCRC) Committee into voter engagement in the UK, to ensure that it continues to reflect Parliament’s view about its most appropriate role and focus for the future.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Accommodation Agencies

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in which month the redress arrangements concerning letting and managing agents will commence. [R]

Kris Hopkins: The Redress Schemes for Lettings Agency Work and Property Management Work (Requirement to Belong to a Scheme etc) (England) Order was laid in Parliament on 23 June. Subject to approval of that Order by both Houses of Parliament, the requirement for letting agents and property managers in England to belong to an approved redress scheme will come into force on 1 October 2014.

Apprentices

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many apprentices aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 24 and (c) 25 years or over are employed in (i) his Department and (ii) each of his Department's Executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

Brandon Lewis: My Department currently has six apprentices. Two are aged 16 to 18, and four are aged 19 to 24. We are due to get a further four apprentices in September 2014.
	Of our Arms Length Bodies, the Planning Inspectorate currently has seven apprentices. Six are aged 19 to 24, and one is aged 25 or over. Homes and Communities Agency currently has three apprentices, all of whom are aged 19 to 24.
	Six apprentices were appointed to permanent roles in the Department of the 10 employed last year. The Department is committed to bringing in apprentices and promoting fresh perspectives and ideas. They are enthusiastic in their approach to work and committed to learning and developing the skills needed to make a positive contribution, both within and outside the Department.

Council Tax

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what guidance his Department has issued on whether the landlord or tenant is responsible for the payment of council tax when a tenant leaves the property but fails to inform the landlord;
	(2)  what guidance his Department has issued on whether the landlord or tenant is responsible for the payment of council tax on the day that a tenancy ends.

Brandon Lewis: The hierarchy of liability for council tax is set out in Section 6 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. A resident tenant of a dwelling is higher in the hierarchy of liability than a non-resident owner. A tenant who has permanently vacated a property is not liable for council tax under local government finance legislation. Decisions on liability are a matter for billing authorities, and will depend on the particular circumstances of each case, such as whether the property is that person’s sole or main residence, or whether there are other remaining residents.
	My Department has not issued specific guidance on this issue, however, our predecessor, the Department of the Environment, has previously done so. I have placed a copy of “Council tax practice note 2” in the Library of the House. It is a reflection of the prevailing legislation at that point in time; with that caveat, it is still guiding otherwise. Paragraph 7 deals with the determination of council tax on a daily basis and states that for liability purposes ‘The state of affairs at the end of any day is assumed to have lasted all that day.’

Emergency Services: Crimes of Violence

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to better protect emergency services from attacks by youths.

Brandon Lewis: On 20 February 2007, the Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006 came into force. This Act, which specifically includes firefighters, makes it an offence to obstruct or hinder an emergency worker responding to emergency circumstances.
	Fire and rescue authorities have in place various measures to engage with young people in their areas. While any attack on firefighters while carrying out their duties is one too many, the number of attacks in England continues to fall.

Empty Property

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of vacant residential properties (a) awaiting occupation, (b) that are derelict, (c) that are for sale and (d) in other categories; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of current net additional housing demand that could be met through bringing vacant properties back into use;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of vacant residential properties in each region.

Stephen Williams: Under this Government, the number of empty homes in England has fallen to a 10 year low. The number of long-term empty homes has fallen by around a third from October 2009 to October 2013, and the overall number of empty homes has fallen by around a fifth over the same period.
	Statistics on vacant dwellings at a national and local authority level are published in the Department’s live table 615, which is available on the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
	My Department does not collect information centrally on the number of vacant residential properties awaiting occupation, derelict, for sale or in other categories. The Department does not hold information on the proportion of current net additional housing demand that could be met through bringing vacant properties back into use.
	As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, columns 29-31WS, my Department does not publish statistics by Government office region.

Energy

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of his Department's consumption in kWh of (a) gas and (b) electricity in each month since June 2010; and what the cost of such consumption has been in each such month.

Brandon Lewis: Under this Government, the DCLG Group has made considerable financial savings in energy consumption, reducing its greenhouse emissions by 54 per centre from 2009-10 to 2013-14, saving £1 million comparing 2009-10 energy costs to 2013-14, through energy efficiency measures and better procurement practices.
	I would note that under the last Administration, the Department's main building (Eland House, Victoria) was one of the least energy-efficient buildings in Whitehall, despite it being the lead Department on energy efficiency standards in buildings. In June 2011, the building was awarded a ‘D’ grade display energy certificate, having improved from a notional ‘G’ grade in 2006-07.
	It is not possible to provide meaningful comparable monthly figures since June 2010, as (a) from 2011, the residual parts of the Government office for the regions estate became part of the core DCLG estate, (b) due to billing credits following consumption estimates by suppliers, (c) changes in consumption due to cold weather and (d) additional consumption due to empty office space being sub-let to third-party tenants, generating income to save taxpayers’ money.

Fire Services: Pensions

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to make formal proposals to end the ongoing dispute on firefighters' pensions based on the alternative costed options within the proposed cost ceiling which were released on 12 June 2014; and if he will make a statement on progress towards resolving that dispute.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 July 2014, Official Report, column 610W. The consultation on the draft regulations has now concluded and it remains premature to pre-empt its outcome. Progress towards resolving this dispute remains entirely in the hands of the Fire Brigades Union.

Fixed Penalties

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what statistics his Department holds on the use of fixed penalty notices in each local authority area.

Brandon Lewis: The most recent official statistics (for 2009-10) show that 9 million parking fines were issued a year by local authorities in England. From 1997-98 to 2010-11, local authority total income from sales, fees and charges in England from parking rose from £608 million to £1.25 billion; net profits from parking rose from £223 million to £512 million in the same period. A survey by LV= car insurance last year estimated that councils hand out 10.7 million fines a year across the UK, and British motorists pay out over £30 million each month in parking fines.
	Councils in England were forecast to make £635 million net profit from parking charges fines in 2013-14. Yet legislation passed by Parliament is clear that parking charges and fines should not be used to raise general revenue. However, some councils are raising money illegally from parking.
	Last July, the High Court ruled that one London borough had illegally hiked parking charges to raise general revenue. The BBC television programme, Inside Out, also drew to my attention parking contracts signed by local authorities where outsourced parking wardens are rewarded for issuing more fines-in flagrant breach of the Government’s operational guidance to councils. The Local Government Association's own participatory budgeting tool has also encouraged councils to raise parking charges and fines as a source of general revenue.
	Such practices are a breach of fundamental constitutional principles from Magna Carta, the Petition of Right and the Bill of Rights: taxes should not be levied without recourse to Parliament, and the justice system should not be corrupted to raise money.
	Higher parking charges and more parking fines were the explicit policy of the Labour Government. Labour DCLG Ministers called for councils to charge for more services, including parking, bemoaned that:
	‘Only one in five councils are using charging to the full potential... [such as for] reducing congestion’
	(Speech to the Local Government Association, 2 July 2008).
	Planning guidance issued by the Labour Government in 2001 (so-called PPG13) told councils to hike parking charges and adopt aggressive enforcement to discourage drivers.
	My Department holds information on councils’ income from penalty charge notices. In my answer of 12 March 2014, Official Report, column 260W, I placed in the Library a table showing the amount of money raised in parking fines in each local authority in England over time, which illustrates the need to reverse Labour’s approach.
	Since 2010, this Government has already:
	Scrapped Labour’s Whitehall policy that pressured councils to hike car parking charges as a ‘demand management measure’ to discourage car use (PPG13).
	Removed Whitehall restrictions which restricted the provision of off-street parking spaces;
	Abolished Labour’s Whitehall policy which inhibited parking charge competition between council areas, and instead introduced a new policy that says parking charges should not undermine the vitality of town centres;
	Introduced a policy that parking enforcement should be proportionate;
	Issued new planning practice guidance on removing street clutter and encouraging the provision of shopper-friendly parking space provision; and
	Introduced the local retention of business rates, which means that councils benefit from business and retail growth in town centres, rather than just hiking parking charges.
	In addition, the Government recently announced a further series of reforms:
	Stopping the abuse or misuse of on-street parking CCTV on an industrial scale. Parking CCTV spy cars were introduced by the last Labour Government.
	Reforming operational parking guidance so it is less heavy handed with motorists, prevents over-aggressive action by bailiffs, positively supports local shops and clearly reinforces the prohibition against parking being used to generate profit;
	Introducing mandatory 10 minute “grace periods” at the end of on-street paid and free parking, and off-street municipal parking;
	Implementing a new right to allow local residents and local firms to demand a review of parking in their area, including charges and the use of yellow lines;
	Proposing a widening of the powers of parking adjudicators, and updating guidance so the public know when they can be awarded costs at tribunals;
	Trialling a 25% discount for drivers at appeal stage, reversing the current disincentive for drivers with a legitimate case to appeal;
	Changing guidance so drivers parking at an out-of-order meter are not fined if there are no alternative ways to pay;
	Maintaining a freeze on parking penalty charges for the remainder of this Parliament; and
	Updating the local government Transparency Code to increase information about local parking charges and the number of parking spaces.
	Unreasonable parking charges and fines push up hard-working people's cost of living. If parking is too expensive or difficult, shoppers will simply drive to out of town supermarkets or just shop online, undermining the vitality of town centres and leading to ‘ghost town’ high streets. But, by rejecting Labour’s approach, this Government is standing up for hard-working people and local shops.

Floods

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2014, Official Report, columns 151-2W, on Bellwin Scheme, which local authorities have made applications for Bellwin funding relating to flooding in winter 2013-14 since 11 June 2014; what amount each such local authority applied for; and what amount has been paid to each such local authority to date.

Brandon Lewis: Bellwin provides emergency financial assistance to local authorities to help them meet uninsurable costs they incur when responding to a major emergency in their area. The level of funding over time is causally linked to the scale of flooding or other emergency. As was the case under previous and current Administrations, it operates by local authorities retrospectively claiming spending back.
	As at 7 July, 70 local authorities have submitted formal Bellwin claims. A table has been deposited in the Library of the House listing the reimbursement payments that have been made to date. In the remaining cases, the claims are being prepared for payment or we are waiting for the local authorities to provide supporting information. The deadline for submitting claims was 30 June 2014; claims are being checked and will be paid promptly.

Homelessness

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many (a) individuals, (b) couples and (c) families are registered in the UK as seeking accommodation.

Kris Hopkins: Local authority housing waiting lists in England under the last Administration rose from 1.02 million households in April 1997 to 1.74 million in April 2010. Under this Government, waiting lists have now fallen to 1.69 million as of April 2013.
	Information is not collected on household type. Figures for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved Administrations.
	This Government has given councils greater freedoms to manage their waiting lists, and worked to give greater priority to those with local connections and members of the armed forces.

Housing

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if his Department will publish a code of practice for the management of residential property. [R]

Kris Hopkins: We have asked the industry to come together and develop a code of practice for both the management of residential property and the process of letting property. The Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is leading the development of the code which we expect to be published in the summer.

Housing: Construction

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will (a) review and (b) amend or provide an exemption to the five-year housing land availability test for councils who have land on the proposed High Speed 2 rail route.

Nicholas Boles: High Speed 2 provides the opportunity to be a significant catalyst for locally-led growth and regeneration at proposed station locations, with the potential to support new homes and new jobs, benefiting from the new high-speed connections. This is illustrated by how High Speed 1 has helped extend regeneration and growth across East London and Kent. The Government will in due course be responding to the High Speed 2 Growth Taskforce Report on how best to work with local councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships to seize the regeneration opportunities from the new line.
	This Government is a strong advocate of locally-led development. The Local Plan process helps councils shape where new development should and should not go. In that context, it does not make sense to exempt councils along the route from having an up to date Local Plan; councils should be in the driving seat to determine what it best for their local communities.

Local Government: Tower Hamlets

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will place in the Library correspondence between his Department and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets relating to the frequency of publication of East End Life.

Brandon Lewis: Copies of correspondence, from myself and my officials, relating to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), giving Tower Hamlets Council written notification of his intention to direct them to comply with the provisions of the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity are available on my Department’s website and can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-tower-hamlets-council
	We are currently considering the representations made following the Secretary of State’s letter and will make a statement in due course.

Parking Offences: CCTV

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what proportion of organisations responding to his consultation on local authority parking agreed with the Government's intention to abolish the use of closed circuit television cameras for parking enforcement; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what proportion of individual respondents to his consultation on local authority parking agreed with the Government's proposal to abolish the use of closed circuit television cameras for parking enforcement.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the right hon. Member to the Government’s response to the consultation.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/local-authority-parking
	As the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), explained on 30 June 2014, Official Report, column 593, we are banning the use of CCTV for parking enforcement, subject to a very small number of exceptions that emerged following that consultation.
	Using CCTV to levy parking fines was a measure introduced by the last Labour Government, and it is clear that such powers have since been misused and abused by councils to raise money on an industrial scale.
	A report in April by Big Brother Watch estimated that static CCTV and CCTV spy cars have raised £312 million in parking fines from 2008 to 2013 across 71 local authorities.
	I would observe that the majority of local authorities are quite able to enforce parking rules without having to adopt such intrusive measures. Public confidence in CCTV is strengthened if it is used to catch criminals not make money.
	The action of the coalition Government to ban such CCTV cash cameras reflects our commitment to protect civil liberties, as well as our intention to end Labour’s culture of unfair and aggressive parking enforcement which has inflicted real harm on local shops and high streets.

Policy

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government at what level his Department values the reduction of risk of death per fatal casualty prevented; and if he will give an example of a policy intervention where this evaluation was made.

Stephen Williams: When carrying out an appraisal my Department follows the principles set out in the HM Treasury’s Green Book: Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government. The Green Book includes guidance on how to value the prevention of fatalities and injuries. One of the approaches in the Green Book used by my Department is the Department for Transport’s valuation of a fatality. The latest monetary value is publicly available on their website.
	An example of where this valuation has been applied is the recent changes to Part P Building Regulations covering electrical safety in dwellings. The impact assessment setting out the analysis is publicly available.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Domestic Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 677W, on official visits, what domestic visits each of the Ministers in the Government Equalities Office have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Helen Grant: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Economic Situation: Females

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the contribution of women to the economy; and if she will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: Women play a vital role in the economy. The Small Business Survey found that SMEs led by women contributed £75 billion to the economy in 2012 alone. The Women's Business Council estimate that, by equalising the labour force participation rates of men and women, the UK could further increase GDP per capita growth by 0.5 percentage points per year, with potential gains of 10% of GDP by 2030.
	In November last year, the Government published its action plan on women and the economy, setting out the full range of action we are taking, including extending the right to request flexible working from June and introducing shared parental leave in April 2015.
	We now have the highest number of women in work and in self-employment on record, the highest ever employment rate for women, and record numbers of women-led enterprises.

Mental Health Services: LGBT People

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities on what dates she has met Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender mental health service providers.

Helen Grant: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 July 2014, Official Report, column 338W.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Healthcare UK

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions she has had with the Chief Executive of Healthcare UK to ensure that business, academia, health and public sector organisations in Northern Ireland are included in Healthcare UK's priorities for 2014-15.

Theresa Villiers: I very much support the promotion of the Northern Ireland health care sector to overseas markets and supporting health care partnerships between Northern Ireland and overseas health care providers and I stand ready to work alongside Northern Ireland Executive Ministers in this regard.
	But given that these relate to devolved matters in Northern Ireland, I would expect these discussions to be conducted primarily between the relevant Northern Ireland Executive Departments and Healthcare UK, rather than through the Northern Ireland Office.

Members: Correspondence

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when she intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Bury South constituency of 12 June 2014 on a youth summit on building a shared future.

Theresa Villiers: I replied to the hon. Gentleman on 8 July.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Fracking

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make an assessment of the implications for environmental safety in the UK hydraulic fracturing programme of studies published in 2013 by the University of Missouri on the problem of dispersal of endocrine disrupter chemicals from fluids used in the fracking process for natural gas.

Michael Fallon: The potential health impacts of chemical or radioactive exposure from shale gas activities have been considered by Public Health England, which published a draft report for comment in October 2013 and a final report in June 2014 entitled ‘Review of the Potential Public Health Impacts of Exposures to Chemical and Radioactive Pollutants as a Result of the Shale Gas Extraction Process’:
	http://www.hpa.org.uk/Publications/Environment/PHECRCEReportSeries/PHECRCE009/
	Public Health England considered the University of Missouri study as part of its review of the literature and data for the final report (see section 8.2).
	The report concluded overall that:
	“An assessment of the currently available evidence indicates that the potential risks to public health from exposure to the emissions associated with shale gas extraction will be low if the operations are properly run and regulated.”
	It noted that
	“Where potential risks have been identified in the literature, the reported problems are typically a result of operational failure and a poor regulatory environment.”
	In the UK, all chemicals which are proposed for use in the hydraulic fracturing process are assessed in advance by the environmental regulators. Operators will not be able to use chemicals for well stimulation unless the Regulator considers them acceptable for use.
	Allowing the use of a chemical at one site does not automatically mean the Regulator will allow it to be used elsewhere. This is because the environmental risks may be different, for example, due to local geological conditions.

Natural Gas

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 1258, on energy security, what the evidential basis is for his statement that the rate of investment in gas is increasing.

Michael Fallon: The statement by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), referred to the overall level of investment. £45 billion has been invested in electricity infrastructure since 2010. This figure was published in DECC’s ‘Energy Investment Report’ April 20141, which also presented information from the ONS Annual Business Survey showing increased annual capital expenditure on electricity, power generation and distribution since 2005, with 2012 as the record year to date.
	Since 2010 six gas plants have commissioned in the UK with a further £700 million plant at Carrington under construction. This compares to five gas plants that commissioned from 2005 to 2010. Details of each plant are listed in the table2. Additionally, energy companies will have developed and implemented investment plans in relation to their existing fleet of gas plants.
	1 Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/305860/DECC_Energy_investment_report_Web_Final.pdf
	2 Taken from DUKES Table 5.11:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-chapter-5-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes
	
		
			 Plant name Capacity (MW) Commission year 
			 Carrington 860 Under construction 
			 West Burton 1,300 2013 
			 Pembroke 2,180 2012 
			 Langage 905 2010 
			 Severn 848 2010 
			 Grain 1,320 2010 
			 Staythorpe C 1,724 2010 
			 Marchwood 842 2009 
			 Little Barford GT 17 2006 
			 Coolkeeragh CCGT 408 2005 
			 Coolkeeragh OCGT 72 2005 
			 Wilton GT2 42 2005

Oil: Exploration

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  if he will publish all (a) minutes, (b) memoranda and (c) correspondence held by his Department about contact with (i) the Ministry of Defence and (ii) the Scottish Office relating to the Department of Energy's consideration of the 1981 application by British Petroleum for a licence to drill in the Firth of Clyde;
	(2)  if he will publish all (a) minutes, (b) memoranda and (c) correspondence originating between July 1984 and January 1986 relating to contacts between the Department of Energy and the Ministry of Defence about applications for licences to drill for oil in the Firth of Clyde.

Michael Fallon: The Department does not hold any such documents.

Plutonium

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the written statement of 3 July 2014, OfficialReport, column 61WS, on management of overseas owned plutonium in the UK, whether the plutonium from Germany and Sweden respectively allocated to the UK civilian stockpile will be subject to the withdrawal from safeguards option under article 14 of the tripartite UK-Euratom-IAEA Voluntary Safeguards Agreement of 1977.

Michael Fallon: All civil nuclear material in the UK is subject to Euratom safeguards and the terms of the UK/Euratom/IAEA Voluntary Safeguards Agreement, including its Article 14. As part of the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, the Government announced that as a matter of policy future withdrawals of nuclear material from safeguards would be severely limited, and that the quantities of material involved would be orders of magnitude less than the amounts used to make nuclear weapons. There is no intention to withdraw from safeguards the plutonium recently allocated to the UK by Germany and Sweden. Information on nuclear material withdrawn from safeguards is available on the Office for Nuclear Regulation website at:
	www.onr.org.uk/safeguards/withdrawals.htm

Senior Civil Servants

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many senior civil servants appointed to positions in his Department since 2010 were previously (a) political appointees within that Department and (b) employed by a political party.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was created in October 2008. Since that date no political appointees who had been working in DECC have subsequently been appointed as senior civil servants in DECC.
	DECC does hold centrally any electronic records on the previous career history of its employees. To extract that information from paper files would incur disproportionate costs.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Air Travel

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what occasions each Minister within his Department has taken domestic flights on official business since May 2010.

Helen Grant: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Domestic Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 665W, on official visits, what domestic visits each of the Ministers of his Department has made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Helen Grant: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Football: Sportsgrounds

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will discuss with the Football Association the development of safe standing areas in Premiership Club grounds.

Helen Grant: I am happy to discuss this, but the Government remains committed to the all-seater policy. We remain of the belief that all-seater stadiums are the safest and best way for fans to watch football and have brought a more diverse audience to the game in the last 20 years.

Lotteries: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will estimate how much money will be raised from society lotteries in (a) Brighton, Kemptown and (b) Brighton and Hove in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: Society Lotteries are entirely independent of Government (unlike the National Lottery) so detailed figures on society lottery income and distribution are not collected by Government. The Gambling Commission publish data about society lotteries, found at:
	http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/gambling_data__analysis/statistics/industry_statistics-1.aspx
	but this is not broken down geographically.

National Lottery: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will estimate the total amount of money awarded to good causes by the National Lottery in (a) Brighton, Kemptown constituency and (b) Brighton and Hove.

Helen Grant: Data supplied by the National Lottery distributors shows that 772 grants of Lottery money to the value of £29,292,517 have been made in Brighton Kemptown constituency, and that 2,965 grants to value of £155,105,953 have been made in the Brighton and Hove local authority area.

Telecommunications

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment Ofcom has made of the reasons for disputes between service providers and Openreach over (a) the provision of telephone and broadband services and (b) the service provided to James and Susan Love of Aldington, Worcestershire.

Edward Vaizey: Ofcom has recently completed a review of Openreach quality of service and has established new rules to bring about faster line repairs and installations for telephone and broadband customers.
	The new regulations which came into effect on 1 July, will ensure that the majority of phone and broadband faults will have to be repaired within two working days, while most customers requiring a new line must receive an appointment within 12 working days. Should Openreach fail to meet the new standards, the company will face sanctions from Ofcom, which could include fines. Openreach will also be required to report publicly on its performance quarterly from October 2014.
	Ofcom does not handle individual consumer complaints, for which an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process is provided.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, columns 181-2W, on Afghanistan, if she will place in the Library all official agreements reached between her Department and USAID on the transfer of the Bost Agripark in 2009.

Justine Greening: I refer to my previous answer to the hon. Member on 5 September 2013, Official Report, column 461W.

Burma

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation of displaced Rohingya Muslims in Burma.

Alan Duncan: FCO and DFID staff monitor the humanitarian situation in Rakhine State closely and visit frequently. While there have been improvements to humanitarian operations following the severe disruptions caused by attacks on UN and international NGO premises in March, many vulnerable communities, including the Rohingya, remain under-served. The UK is providing bilateral humanitarian support in Rakhine to all communities affected by the humanitarian situation there, as well as support through core contributions to multilateral agencies.

Conflict Pool

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent from the Conflict Pool in each country in each year since its launch.

Justine Greening: Full information on Conflict Pool programmes managed by DFID can be found on the online Development Tracker at:
	http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/

Developing Countries: Fraud and Corruption

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many reports of fraud or corrupt practices her Department has received (a) in writing and (b) through the development tracker website in each year since 2010.

Justine Greening: Incidents of substantiated fraud are set out in both the Department's Annual Report and, where appropriate, in the notes of the Annual Accounts.

Disaster Relief

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent from the Rapid Response Facility in each country in each year since its launch.

Justine Greening: Full information on funding to the Rapid Response Facility can be found on the online Development Tracker at:
	http://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/
	The following amounts have been spent in countries through the Rapid Response Facility since its launch:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Sierra Leone 2 
			 India 2.3 
			 Philippines 8 
			 South Sudan 6 
			 Bosnia 0.3 
			 Iraq 2

Domestic Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 681W, on official visits, what domestic visits each of the Ministers of her Department has made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Alan Duncan: Since January 2013, DFID Ministers have made the following domestic visits on official business:
	Secretary of State (Rt Hon Justine Greening MP)
	17 January 2013-Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride
	28 January 2013-Regional Cabinet in Leeds
	20 May 2013-Regional Visit to Watford
	27 June 2013-Regional Visit to Dartford
	24 October 2013-Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride
	20 November 2013-Regional Visit to Brighton and Hastings
	11 February 2014-Regional Visit to Pudsey
	24 February 2014-Regional Visit to Edinburgh and Regional Cabinet in Aberdeen
	1 May 2014-Regional Visit to Birmingham and Warwick
	Minister of State (Rt Hon Alan Duncan MP)
	6 March 2014-Regional Visit to Aberdeen
	1 May 2014-Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride and Glasgow
	2 May 2014-Regional visit to Edinburgh
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lynne Featherstone MP)
	4 February 2013-Regional Visit to Winchester
	10 June 2013-Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride.
	2 July 2013-Regional Visit to Milton Keynes
	9 October 2013-Regional Visit to Bristol
	24 February 2014-Regional Visit to Birmingham and Ruby
	26 February 2014-Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride
	17 March 2014-Visit to the DFID office in East Kilbride
	29 June 2014-Regional Visit to Edinburgh

Overseas Aid

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether decisions to award funding under the Global Poverty Action Fund were made by the Civil Society Department, Policy and Research Division of her Department or by Triple Line Consulting Ltd.

Justine Greening: The Secretary of State has final approval of all GPAF funding decisions. All grants approved by the Secretary of State are subject to satisfactory completion of pre-grant due diligence.

Triple Line Consulting

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been paid to Triple Line Consulting Ltd for the management and running of the Global Poverty Action Fund in each year since 2010.

Justine Greening: Triple Line Consulting Ltd is the contracted Fund Manager of the Global Poverty Action Fund. To manage the Global Poverty Action Fund, Triple Line Consulting Ltd has been paid:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2010-11 0.2 
			 2011-12 0.8 
			 2012-13 0.7 
			 2013-14 1.3

West Africa

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what additional support she is providing to authorities in West Africa to help them with the recent ebola outbreak.

Lynne Featherstone: To date, the UK Government has contributed £897,000 to the Ebola Virus Disease response in Sierra Leone and Liberia through multilateral partners and the DFID bilateral programme. In addition, DFID is finalizing arrangements to send out three Public Health England disease control specialists to Sierra Leone to support the response. We are working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and national government agencies to closely monitor the situation and help guide any additional response by DFID in-country and in the region.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Economic and Social Benefits

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the economic and social contribution of airports to (a) the Exchequer and (b) the local communities they serve; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The aviation policy framework that the Government published last year recognises the very important role airports across the UK play in providing domestic and international connections and their vital contribution to the growth of regional economies. Only last month the Airport Operators Association published 13 case studies illustrating this—with Newcastle taking centre stage.

Airports: Economic and Social Benefits

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the economic and social contribution of airports to (a) the public purse and (b) local communities.

Robert Goodwill: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 7 July 2014, Official Report, column 159W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Karen Lumley).

Bus Services

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many public inquiries into bus performance were undertaken by each traffic commissioner in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The following table shows the number of public inquiries heard against operators of local bus services in the last five years in England and Wales.
	
		
			 Traffic area 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2012-14 
			 North East England 1 1 0 0 0 
			 North West England 1 0 4 1 0 
			 West Midlands 2 2 1 3 3 
			 Wales 11 5 2 0 5 
			 West of England 7 6 4 0 1 
			 East of England 1 0 2 0 5 
			 London and SE England 2 7 2 0 0

Bus Services

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it a condition of the Bus Service Operators Grant incentive for real time information equipment that the performance data generated should be made available to the traffic commissioners.

Stephen Hammond: In July 2013, we announced a package of reforms to the Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG) system following consultation. At this time, we announced that the BSOG incentives would be maintained until 2014 when we would review the remaining parts of the bus subsidy system. As part of this commitment, we are now undertaking work to consider reforms to the incentive grants and will consider the conditions related to these.

Bus Services

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many local transport authorities achieve the bus punctuality targets set by the Senior Traffic Commissioners.

Stephen Hammond: Local transport authorities are not set bus punctuality targets by the Senior Traffic Commissioner. The Traffic Commissioners' “Practice Direction: Standards for Local Bus Services” outlines the standards which bus operators are expected to adhere to. The Traffic Commissioners, as statutory regulators of the bus industry, have the powers to take action against operators who fail to operate according to the registered details.

Bus Services: Cornwall

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding has been allocated to support rural bus routes in Cornwall in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Stephen Hammond: It is for individual local authorities to determine how much of the block grant funding they receive is allocated to supporting bus services. Local authorities in England outside London spend over £340 million in direct subsidy to bus services in this way. The latest out-turn figures, for 2012-13, show that Cornwall county council has an annual budget of £5.2 million for this purpose.
	The Department also provides direct support to bus services each year through Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG). Details of BSOG funding paid to bus operators in the last three financial years is available online. It is not possible to provide this data broken down by region. The data are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-service-operators-grant-payments-to-english-operators-up-to-31-march-2013
	Following changes to BSOG announced in 2013, the BSOG previously paid to operators in respect of local authority supported bus services has now been devolved to authorities. Cornwall county council recently received £191,280 covering the period 1 January to 31 March 2014 and a further £765,118 covering the 2014-15 financial year.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was paid to PwC for its report, Analysis and advisory work on a potential property bond scheme for property owners affected by plans for HS2 dated March 2014 and published by HS2 Ltd as part of the response to the 2013 consultation on compensation.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport reimbursed HS2 Ltd £311,238 for work commissioned on its behalf from PwC on the property bond proposed in the 2013 compensation consultation.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when discussions were held between PwC and the Law Society, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Council for Mortgages Lenders, National Association of Estate Agents and the Valuation Office Agency on the property bond prior to publication of the report, Analysis and advisory work on a potential property bond scheme for property owners affected by plans for HS2 dated March 2014 and published by HS2 Ltd as part of the response to the 2013 consultation on compensation.

Robert Goodwill: Discussions between PWC and the aforementioned parties regarding the property bond proposed in the 2013 property compensation consultation took place on the following dates:
	The Law Society—20 January 2014
	The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors—16 January 2014
	The Council of Mortgage Lenders—3 January 2014 and 13 January 2014
	National Association of Estate Agents—7 January 2014 and 31 January 2014
	Valuation Office Agency—27 January 2014 and 29 January 2014.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many blight notices have been (a) served on HS2 Ltd and (b) accepted in each affected postcode and constituency.

Robert Goodwill: The number of blight notices which have been (a) served on HS2 Ltd and (b) accepted in each affected postcode and constituency are indicated in the following tables.
	
		
			 Blight notices served by postcode and constituency at 12 July 2014 
			 Postcode Constituency Number 
			 HP22 Aylesbury 16 
			 MK18 Banbury 6 
			 B7 Birmingham, Ladywood 1 
			 HP17 Buckingham 3 
			 HP18 Buckingham 1 
			 HP22 Buckingham 4 
			 MK18 Buckingham 5 
			 NN13 Buckingham 4 
			 HP16 Chesham and Amersham 12 
			 HP6 Chesham and Amersham 1 
			 NW3 Hampstead and Kilburn 1 
			 NW1 Holborn and St Pancras 19 
			 CV47 Kenilworth and Southam 2 
		
	
	
		
			 CV8 Kenilworth and Southam 16 
			 WS13 Lichfield 5 
			 WS14 Lichfield 5 
			 WS15 Lichfield 1 
			 B92 Meriden 9 
			 CV7 Meriden 3 
			 B46 North Warwickshire 62 
			 B76 North Warwickshire 3 
			 B78 North Warwickshire 1 
			 UB9 Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner 2 
			 NN11 South Northamptonshire 1 
			 NN13 South Northamptonshire 3 
			 OX17 South Northamptonshire 3 
			 B78 Tamworth 4 
			 WS14 Tamworth 15 
			 HA4 Uxbridge and South Ruislip 1 
			 Total — 209 
		
	
	
		
			 Blight notices accepted by postcode and constituency at 12 July 2014 
			 Postcode Constituency Number 
			 HP22 Aylesbury 6 
			 MK18 Banbury 4 
			 HP22 Buckingham 3 
			 MK18 Buckingham 4 
			 NN13 Buckingham 2 
			 HP16 Chesham and Amersham 9 
			 HP6 Chesham and Amersham 1 
			 NW1 Holborn and St Pancras 8 
			 CV8 Kenilworth and Southam 12 
			 CV47 Kenilworth and Southam 1 
			 WS13 Lichfield 5 
			 WS14 Lichfield 3 
			 WS15 Lichfield 1 
			 B92 Meriden 2 
			 CV7 Meriden 3 
			 B46 North Warwickshire 24 
			 B76 North Warwickshire 3 
			 B78 North Warwickshire 1 
			 OX17 South Northamptonshire 3 
			 NN13 South Northamptonshire 2 
			 B78 Tamworth 3 
			 WS14 Tamworth 11 
			 Total — 111

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many early access agreements have been issued in the High Speed 2 (Phase 1) process in each affected postcode and constituency since February 2014.

Robert Goodwill: As part of the ongoing environment mitigation programme, further ecology and watercourse surveys have been undertaken in 2014. Additional sites have also been approached for noise monitoring.
	February 2014 was a preparatory phase and HS2 Ltd began issuing requests in March 2014. A total of 525 requests were issued between March and June 2014, of which 390 were approved for access by the end of June. This figure has been disaggregated to parliamentary constituency and postcode district as requested.
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency Postcode Number of requests for early access agreements 
			 Aylesbury HP17/HP21 1 
			 Aylesbury HP21/HP22 1 
			 Aylesbury HP22 21 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP17 1 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP17/HP19 2 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP17/HP19/HP21 1 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP17/HP21 1 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP17/HP21/HP22 1 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP17/HP22 4 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP18/HP19 1 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP18/HP22 1 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP21 1 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP22 4 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham HP22/MK18 1 
			 Aylesbury/Buckingham/Chesham and Amersham HP17/HP21/HP22/HP18/MK18/HP6/HP7 1 
			 Aylesbury/Chesham and Amersham HP16 1 
			 Aylesbury/Chesham and Amersham HP16/HP22 2 
			 Banbury CV47/OX17 1 
			 Banbury MK18 4 
			 Banbury MK18/NN13 2 
			 Banbury NN13 1 
			 Banbury/Buckingham MK18 2 
			 Banbury/Buckingham MK18/OX27 4 
			 Banbury/Buckingham/South Northamptonshire NN13 2 
			 Banbury/South Northamptonshire MK18/NN13 1 
			 Banbury/South Northamptonshire NN11 1 
			 Banbury/South Northamptonshire OX17 1 
			 Beaconsfield UB9 1 
			 Beaconsfield UB9/WD3 1 
			 Beaconsfield/Chesham and Amersham/South West Hertfordshire UB9/WD3 1 
			 Beaconsfield/Chesham and Amersham/South West Hertfordshire WD3 1 
			 Beaconsfield/Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner UB9 2 
			 Beaconsfield/Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner/South West Hertfordshire UB9/WD3 1 
			 Birmingham Erdington B35 1 
			 Brent Central HA9 1 
			 Brent Central NW10 4 
			 Brent North HA0 1 
			 Buckingham HP17 4 
			 Buckingham HP17/HP22 4 
			 Buckingham HP18 3 
			 Buckingham HP18/HP22 7 
			 Buckingham HP18/HP22/MK18 1 
			 Buckingham HP18/MK18/OX27 2 
			 Buckingham HP22 9 
			 Buckingham HP22/MK18 1 
			 Buckingham MK18 33 
			 Buckingham MK18/OX27 1 
			 Buckingham NN13 4 
			 Buckingham/Chesham and Amersham HP22/WD3 1 
			 Buckingham/South Northamptonshire NN13 4 
		
	
	
		
			 Chesham and Amersham HP16 9 
			 Chesham and Amersham HP7 4 
			 Chesham and Amersham HP7/HP8 2 
			 Chesham and Amersham HP8 3 
			 Chesham and Amersham SL9/WD3 1 
			 Chesham and Amersham/South West Hertfordshire SL9 2 
			 Chesham and Amersham/South West Hertfordshire SL9 3 
			 Chesham and Amersham/South West Hertfordshire WD3 1 
			 Coventry South Boro/Kenilworth and Southam CV4/ 3 
			 Ealing Central and Acton NW10 40 
			 Ealing Central and Acton/Ealing North UB6/W5 1 
			 Ealing North UB5 9 
			 Ealing North UB6/W5 1 
			 Holborn and St Pancras NW1 9 
			 Kenilworth and Southam/Meriden CV4/CV7/CV8 1 
			 Kenilworth and Southam CV8/CV32/CV47/OX17/CV3/CV4/CV33/NN11 63 
			 Kenilworth and Southam/Lichfield/North Warwickshire CV8/WS13/B76 1 
			 Lichfield WS13/WS14/WS15/DE13 47 
			 Lichfield/Tamworth WS14 1 
			 Meriden B92 13 
			 Meriden B92/CV7 8 
			 Meriden CV7 23 
			 Meriden CV8/B37 1 
			 Meriden B37/B40 1 
			 Meriden/ North Warwickshire B37/B46/CV7 1 
			 Meriden/North Warwicks CV7 3 
			 Meriden/North Warwicks CV7/B92 2 
			 Meriden/North Warwicks/Sutton Coldfield CV7/B36/B37/B46/B92 1 
			 North Warwickshire B78/B46/B37/B78 38 
			 North Warwickshire/Tamworth B78 1 
			 Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner HA4/UB9 1 
			 Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner UB10 6 
			 Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner UB9 5 
			 Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner UB9 2 
			 Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner/South West Hertfordshire UB9/WD3 1 
			 South Northamptonshire CV47 1 
			 South Northamptonshire /Tamworth CV47 1 
			 South Northamptonshire NN11 6 
			 South Northamptonshire NN11/OX17 3 
			 South Northamptonshire NN13 16 
			 South Northamptonshire NN13/OX17 6 
			 South Northamptonshire OX17 14 
			 South West Hertfordshire UB9/WD3 1 
			 South West Hertfordshire WD3 4 
			 Tamworth WS14/B75/B78/B75 13

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many requests for additional land have been served in each affected postcode and constituency by HS2 Ltd which require additional provision to the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Bill to be deposited since February 2014.

Robert Goodwill: No requests for additional land have been made.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what agricultural land in each affected postcode area and constituency has been purchased by HS2 Ltd in safeguarded areas on the route of Phase 1 or Phase 2 of High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd has acquired one agricultural holding to date, Oaks Farm, Banbury Road, Finmere Bucks, MK18 4AJ in the constituency of Banbury.
	The land required for Phase 2 of HS2 has not yet been safeguarded.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) Ministers in his Department and (b) representatives of High Speed 2 have had with the World Health Organisation on noise and High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance on noise is freely and publicly available and has been used by HS2 Ltd to help inform their noise assessment and mitigation. The HS2 Acoustic Review Group, which has informed HS2 Ltd's noise assessment, also includes a member that is an adviser to the WHO on its noise guidelines. As a result neither Ministers nor HS2 Ltd officials have discussed noise directly with WHO.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the High Speed 2 Select Committee will have sight of the Major Project Authority's reports on High Speed 2 before it begins to hear petitions.

Robert Goodwill: The role of the Select Committee is to hear petitions from those directly and specially affected by HS2 Phase One and consider, in the light of this and the case put forward by the promoter, whether any changes are required to the scheme. MPA reports are confidential and are an assessment of the overall readiness of the project for delivery. The Government has no plans to provide the reports to the Select Committee as they are not related to its role in hearing petitions.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Government plans to respond further to the recommendations of the 138th Report of the Environmental Audit Committee, Session 2012-13, HC 1076, on HS2 and the Environment, so as to ensure that the Hybrid Bill process delivers the requirements of the Environment Impact Assessment Directive.

Robert Goodwill: As was made clear in the recent Supreme Court judgment, the hybrid Bill process is compliant with the EIA Directive and meets its requirements. The Government has published its response to the Environmental Audit Committee report on HS2 and the Environment and has no plans to respond further.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the development plans for Euston in the High Speed 2 (Phase 1) Hybrid Bill will be announced; and when the environmental statement consultation will be held.

Robert Goodwill: Following the Higgins report in March this year, I asked HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to develop more comprehensive proposals for the redevelopment of Euston, working with the rail industry and the local community. If a proposal can be developed that improves on that contained in the hybrid Bill, I will bring it forward as an amendment to the Bill in due course. A consultation on any supplementary environmental information accompanying the proposal would follow in accordance with the Standing Orders of this House.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress his Department has made on the pilot of a new enforcement process for foreign-registered vehicles that have overstayed.

Stephen Hammond: After a successful initial six-week period, the pilot of a new enforcement process has been extended to August. There has been very positive feedback from the police forces involved. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is continuing to work with the police to develop a more effective approach for dealing with foreign registered vehicles that have overstayed.

Railway Stations: Somerset

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received from Somerset county council on the reopening of railway stations in Somerset.

Stephen Hammond: We are not aware of any new station propositions from Somerset county council.

Railways

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Bradford will be included in any future northern high speed rail line across the Pennines.

Robert Goodwill: The plans are at an early stage. The Government has asked Sir David Higgins to produce a plan for bringing the benefits of high speed rail to the North more quickly, as well as initial proposals for faster east-west connections—including options on route, timescales and cost, and to deliver it in the autumn. This will start the process by which we can have a proper debate about the future of rail connectivity in the north.

Railways: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received from groups supporting the development of the Brighton Mainline 2; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: In recent years the Department has received numerous and varied representations on different elements of wide ranging proposals, collectively known as “Brighton Main Line 2”. This has included individual stakeholders, local and national interest groups, as well as several hon. and right hon. Members. In response, the Government commissioned Network Rail to undertake a capacity study of rail services between London and the Sussex coast, the findings of which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/brighton-main-line-emerging-capacity-strategy-for-control-period-6
	The Network Rail study found that short to medium-term investments along the BML should be focused on improving existing infrastructure.

Railways: Brighton

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what improvements to Coastway East and the Brighton-Ashford Line have been proposed in the TSGN franchise to improve services between Brighton and Ashford International; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The new TSGN franchise will begin 14 September this year (2014) and is vital to the delivery of the Government's multi-billion pound investment in rail services in the South East of England through the Thameslink programme. The franchisee will have to meet stretching targets for performance and customer satisfaction, which are linked to financial incentives.
	A number of improvements have been secured in the contract, including for passengers on the East Coastway Line. The route will see improvements in services from December 2015 when new timetables are planned. These will reduce journey times between Hastings/Eastbourne/Lewes and central London on some off-peak services by about 5 minutes.
	Passengers will also benefit from the retention of through services between Brighton and Ashford International and the retention of staffing from the first train in the morning to the last train at night at all stations where it is currently available. This first to last staffing will be extended to four further stations (Bexhill, Falmer, Portslade, Shoreham-on-Sea) during the new contract.

Railways: Construction

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Government has for further high-speed rail developments.

Robert Goodwill: The Government's goal for high speed rail is for a truly national network that will bring the UK and its cities closer together. We are clear that the benefits of high speed rail should extend as widely as possible, and we will continue to explore options for future links to achieve this.

Railways: Fares

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if it is his policy to retain the capping of rail fares at the rate of RPI + 1, beyond 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Fares revenue is crucial to funding day-to-day railway operations and the massive upgrade programme we are delivering. However, I recognise concerns passengers have about impacts of fares on household budgets, which is why for the first time in a decade average regulated rail fares have been capped at inflation for 2014.
	No decision has yet been taken on rail fares for 2015 onwards.

Railways: Freight

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of Britain's rail track mileage is capable of accommodating full-sized lorry trailers on trains.

Stephen Hammond: Since 2007 the Government has invested around £500 million specifically in improvements to rail freight infrastructure, and we have committed a further £200 million over the next five years. The amount of freight moved on our railways has almost doubled since 1994.
	The only railway infrastructure in Britain that can accommodate lorry trailers on trains is HS1 between the Channel Tunnel and Barking, which can carry the standard international 4 metre semi-trailer. It represents 0.75% of Britain's rail route mileage.
	Around 80% of the UK domestic semi-trailer fleet has a height of 4.25 metres or greater. These cannot be accommodated on trains in Britain.

Railways: Plymouth

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made on a second railway line to connect Plymouth with London and the Midlands.

Stephen Hammond: It is for the south west local authorities and the local enterprise partnership to continue to stress the importance of additional rail route to connect Plymouth to London and the Midlands.
	However, I would like to emphasise that a long term resilient rail route to Plymouth and far south-west is a priority for this Government. Network Rail is reviewing measures of improvement in a number of key locations on the Western Route.

Road Traffic Control

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to relieve congestion on roads.

Robert Goodwill: Road investment is central to our long-term economic plan. We are spending more than £24 billion on strategic roads between 2010 and 2021. A further £7.4 billion will be spent on local roads in the next Parliament, together with £1.5 billion funding from the Local Growth Fund announced on Monday. This will bring forward much needed schemes, like the Stafford Western Access route, which are designed to relieve congestion and open up growth across the country.

Road Traffic Control: Hampshire

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to relieve congestion on roads in Hampshire.

Robert Goodwill: On Monday of this week we published the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Deals, including both deals which cover Hampshire; Solent LEP and EM3 LEP.
	Working with the Solent LEP, Government has agreed to fund two schemes to relieve congestion on the Gosport peninsula.
	The Gosport Road and A27 improvement scheme and The Peel Common Roundabout Improvement scheme, a pinch point on the local road network near the Enterprise Zone, Daedalus.
	While Stubbington Bypass and the Newgate Lane South schemes were not allocated funding in the deal directly, there is a commitment for the Government and the LEP to negotiate in 2014 a further phase of co-investment to deliver strategic infrastructure to support the development of network capacity to and from the Gosport peninsula—including Stubbington Bypass.
	Working with the EM3 LEP, Government has agreed to fund three schemes to relieve congestion around Basingstoke: Basingstoke Northern Corridor to Growth A33; Basingstoke North Eastern Corridor A340 partial dualling; and the Basingstoke South Western Corridor scheme. All of these schemes will reduce current congestion levels and help mitigate future congestion from new housing and business sites.
	The Whitehill/Bordon Relief road will remove the severance caused by the A325 and improve traffic flows through the towns to reduce congestion.
	EM3 have also been allocated £20.7 million, with £4.3 million in the first year for a transport fund which will comprise sustainable transport schemes to alleviate congestion in the identified growth and step up towns within the LEP area.

Roads: Accidents

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of recent trends in reported road casualties.

Robert Goodwill: The figures for 2013 show the lowest number of road deaths since records began.
	The Government is working on a range of measures to continue to improve road safety including introducing a new drug driving offence, cycle proofing roads, and removing the “statutory option” to ensure more drink drivers are brought to justice.

Roads: Safety

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of recent trends in road safety statistics.

Robert Goodwill: The figures for 2013 show the lowest number of road deaths since records began.
	The Government is working on a range of measures to continue to improve road safety including introducing a new drug driving offence, cycle proofing roads, and removing the “statutory option” to ensure more drink drivers are brought to justice.

Transport: East Midlands

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the contribution of High Speed 2 to transport connectivity between communities in the East Midlands.

Robert Goodwill: Under the proposed HS2 scheme, the station in the East Midlands will be separated by journeys to Birmingham and Sheffield by less than 20 minutes each. Fast and frequent shuttle services could connect Nottingham and Derby with the East Midlands Hub station with a journey time of just 12 minutes from Nottingham and 15 minutes from Derby.
	Sir David Higgins’ report, HS2 Plus, was published on 17 March. Government welcomes Sir David’s recommendation that Phase Two should be considered holistically and integrated with classic rail investment. In order to deliver better connectivity we have now asked HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to explore a process for integrated development of Network Rail’s plans with decisions on Phase Two of HS2. This will form part of Sir David Higgins’ report in the autumn.

Transport: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much transport grant was given to Warrington Borough Council in each year since 2008-09.

Robert Goodwill: The following funding for transport has been given to Warrington Borough Council in each year since 2008-09:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Integrated Transport Block Maintenance Block Other 
			 2008-09 2.276 2.949 — 
			 2009-10 2.419 3.163 — 
			 2010-11 1.921 3.299 — 
			 2011-121 1.626 3.346 — 
			 2012-13 1.487 3.250 — 
			 2013-142 1.487 3.866 — 
			 2014-152 2.091 3.243 — 
			 2010-113 — — 0.260 
			 March 20113 — — 0.555 
			 March 20144 — — 0.313 
			 2014-153 — — 0.398 
			 1 Includes the top up announced in the 2011 autumn statement. 2 Includes the top up announced in the 2012 autumn statement. 3 Pothole fund. 4 Severe Weather Funding. 
		
	
	In addition Warrington Borough Council has received £4.650 million of funding for the Warrington Sustainable Travel Triangle, a Local Sustainable Transport Fund scheme which is designed to connect expanding residential and employment areas in north-east and north-west Warrington with the town centre through the provision of a new direct bus service and new and improved cycle routes, cycle hire, and promotion to meet the travel needs of shift and isolated workers.
	Warrington will also benefit from another LSTF scheme overseen by St Helens Council—the Mid-Mersey Sustainable Cross Boundary Links (£3.120 million).
	On 7 July the Government also announced a Growth Deal with Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership. This included £87.34 million for potential transport projects from 2015-16 onwards including the Omega Birchwood transport improvements; West Warrington, Omega, M62 Junction 8; and Warrington Waterfront/Swing bridge. Further details can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-growth-deals

West Coast Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many additional seats his Department expects will be created on the west coast main line by the conversion of one first class carriage to standard class following the award of the west coast main line franchise to Virgin Trains.

Stephen Hammond: An additional 5,500 standard class seats will be provided per day on the west coast main line.

West Coast Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the additional capacity created by Virgin Trains converting one first class carriage to standard class on West Coast Mainline was factored into the HS2 business case issued in October 2013.

Robert Goodwill: The Strategic Case for HS2, published in October 2013 considers conversion of first class carriages into standard class as an alternative to HS2. More details can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rail-alternatives-to-hs2